A F E D E R A L R I G H T T O E D U C A T I O N
What does it do?
What does a federal right to education do?
What does a federal right to education do?
It fundamentally changes how public schools are funded. The United States is the most unequally educated nation in the developed world. A federal right to education changes that.
Changes the system of funding
A federal right to education makes the current, unequal system of funding our public schools, unconstitutional. It changes the system from one that breeds inequality, to one that promotes equality.
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Before
In America, nearly half of a public school district's funding comes from local property taxes. It may seem practical for a surrounding neighborhood to fund their local school, but this breeds massive inequalities. Rich neighborhoods can collect more funding and produce quality schools, while poor neighborhoods can not. Rich students leave school with the knowledge and tools they need to navigate and adapt in the world, while many poor students leave school illiterate.
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After
A federal right to education makes this system of funding unconstitutional. A system of inequality is replaced with a system of equality. Funding no longer primarily comes from local property taxes. It equalizes the "great equalizer." All Americans have access to quality education no matter their socioeconomic status or geographic location (inner-city, suburbs, rural down).
Local
46%
State
47%
Federal
7%
Before a federal right to education
After a federal right to education
Michael Rebell, a school equity litigator, says that funding public schools primarily with property taxes was a novel idea in America’s early years, but that does not mean it is beneficial today. He says, “the origins were very progressive, but what might have been progressive in one era can become inequitable in another.”
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And more...
Dependent on how an amendment is written, a federal right to education will reform all levels of American education.
Early childhood education
Increased access to quality 0-5 years care. The most consequential years of brain development and the greatest variable in determining success in life.
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Public education
Equal access to quality education no matter one's socioeconomic status or geographic location. The success of American lives are no longer determined by one's zipcode.
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Higher education
Little to no tuition for public colleges and universities. It is the most direct way to take on the high price of college education. Like many other nations have realized, you can't put a price on a fundamental human right.
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Continuing education
Increased and expanded access to quality adult learning and job training. It will help future-proof the American labor force in weathering a volatile 21st century economy. It allows America to build a robust continued learning system to catch and retrain millions that will inevitably fall out of employment due to automation and artificial intelligence.
What does it solve?
A federal right to education has the power to make a big, fundamental change in how we fund our public schools. But what does it do? What does it solve?