The Network for Public Education (NPE) has issued
statehouse-by-statehouse report cards holding legislators
accountable for how they treat public schools and the chil-
dren who depend on them.
"Public Schooling in America: 2026 Report Card" eval-
uates states across four categories: privatization of public
education, protections for homeschooled students, school
funding and conditions for teaching and learning. California
received a "C" grade.
NPE's report makes a clear case that the more states
spend on privatization strategies, the less they invest in pub-
lic education.
" The data confirm what we have long suspected: privatiza-
tion and disinvestment go hand in hand," says Carol Burris,
NPE executive director and report author.
In California, "homeschool" charter schools have been
popping up with limited guardrails for how millions of edu-
cation dollars are spent. "California classifies [these schools]
as non-classroom-based charter schools, [masking] the
number of students who are, for all intents and purposes,
homeschooled. These charter schools... compete for parents
by offering educational funds that parents can self-direct for
anything from sailing lessons to field trips to Disneyland —
all paid for by taxpayers."
While California's non-classroom based charter sector
includes different models including homeschool and virtual,
the state does not track which schools offer which model,
nor the number of students enrolled by program type.
Burris notes that the stakes have never been higher,
with the One Big Beautiful Bill embedded with the first-
ever national tax credit voucher program, while $500
million in federal funding has been directed toward char-
ter schools. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education
is being dismantled.
To read the report, visit inthepublicinterest.org/
the-grades-are-in.
Privatization, Disinvestment Go Hand in Hand
34
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