Public schools offer students quality education for free. Kansas currently has 309 public school districts of those 285 were considered to be Title 1 schools in 2017.  Title 1 is a school wide program that is available to schools with a student base where at least 40% of students come from low-income families.  This means that in Kansas the majority of schools serve families that are considered to be low income.  If it weren't for public schools offering free education many of these children would not be able to get an education at all; their families simply could not afford to send them to private schools. 

 

 

 

This goes along with my first answer- offering free education ensures that students will have access to education.  Another reason that I think that public schools are better than private or charter schools is that public schools cannot discriminate who they offer education to.  Private and charter schools do not have to adhere to IDEA or other laws that guarantee education for students with special needs. IDEA requires public schools to give free and appropriate education to students with special needs.  While many people in education don't like to deal with special education laws no one can deny the protection and benefit for our students with special needs. Public schools are closely monitored and held accountable for the level of education that is provided to each student. This helps to ensure that EVERY student receives an education that is appropriate for them.  Most private and charter schools do not have the same series of checks and balances in place. 

I think that one major reason that public schools are important to Kansas, or at least something that shows the importance that Kansas places on public schools is the fact that our State Constitution has a specific prevision that requires our legislative and executive branches to provide "equitable and adequate" funding to public schools.  The part in quotes is something that has been addressed by our State Supreme Court for the last few years.

Now not being a native Kansan, I don't know the history behind why the State Constitution has that provision.  But I think it's clear that the importance of public education was so great that either the founders of the State or statesmen who came after wanted to protect and preserve it with our State's highest legal document.  I can only assume that they believed that an educated citizenry was vital to the development and survival of the State.  Which while very noble, is not very original as Benjamin Franklin felt that very same way during the founding of our nation.  What makes it unique is that they felt so strongly, they wove that belief into our Constitution.

 

Because success should not be tied to privilege.  I know that this is a disputed claim, but I really do believe that private and charter schools amount to academic privilege.  And if one of the chief goals of an educator is to prepare students for what comes after they are done with their schooling, building a sense of entitlement is a disservice to the student.