The main obstacle to improving the equality of United States education is the level of education funding. Theoretical arguments supporting the impact of the level of education are the issue of politics and its impact on education provision and funding distribution that have an effect on the equality of education. One theory is communicated by Paglayan in his conclusions regarding the autocratic roots of education, which means that democratic values are not the basis of the modern education system in the United States. The school districts where the majority of students are Native Americans, Black, Hispanic, or other minorities receive approximately $1,800 less per student when compared to districts where the majority of students are white.
In many states, education systems emerged before they became democratic. Paglayan found that democratization has no impact on the enrollment of students in primary school institutions, meaning that democratic values of equality and providing the disadvantaged communities with access to education are not a part of the education system design. The author’s theory and empirical findings on the establishment of primary schools show that democratization, which aims to provide a voice for the poor and disadvantaged, does not affect education and funding. The autocrats were the ones establishing the majority of primary education facilities. Empirical evidence regarding the magnitude of the impact includes the NPR’s statistic from 2016 that shows the difference in how much school districts spend per student. The schools do not support the disadvantaged students, which during the times of the pandemic deepens the inequality since the minority students who have no access to the internet cannot participate in the education process.
Another commonly cited obstacle is the white parents’ and voters’ attitudes towards ethnic minorities. The empirical evidence supporting this argument includes a study by McKinsey&Co on the differences in internet access among white and minority students. In October 2020, 92% of white students had access to the internet, with only approximately 90% of Hispanic and 86% of black students having access to the internet on a regular or temporary basis. The funding distribution depends on the white voters, while they do not experience difficulties with their children’s studies, unlike parents who are minorities. As a result, the needs of the minority students are not supported by the white parents. The white voters affect the funding for the schools because they are the majority and their votes support the policymakers who do not pay attention to the lack of funding for the education of minorities and disadvantaged communities.
In summary, this op-ed addresses the issue of education inequality in the United States. The main cause of the inequality and unequal access to education and resources for minorities is the level of education funding. The communities where ethnic minorities reside typically get lesser funding while having to manage larger amounts of students. Moreover, the attitudes of white voters and parents also matter since they affect the distribution of funding. However, most white parents are not affected by education inequality.