NEW REPORT GIVES 17 STATES FAILING GRADES FOR ABANDONING PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Network for Public Education's Most Comprehensive Report Card Finds Privatization and Disinvestment Go Hand in Hand

NEW YORK, June 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Network for Public Education (NPE) released Public Schooling in America: 2026 Report Card an expansive state-by-state assessment of support for public education. The report evaluates all 50 states and the District of Columbia across four categories: Privatization, Protections for Homeschooled Students, School Funding, and Conditions for Teaching and Learning. It documents a troubling national pattern: the statehouses most aggressively redirecting public money toward private alternatives are the most neglectful of their public schools, teachers, and students. NPE's analysis found a strong, statistically significant negative relationship between privatization and policies that support public schools (p < 0.0001).

Only two states — Nebraska and Vermont — earned an A. Seventeen states received an F, failing to meet even 40% of the points allocated across NPE's 39 standards. Florida ranked last, scoring 14 out of 102 possible points, with Arizona close behind. "The data confirm what we have long suspected: privatization and disinvestment go hand in hand," said Carol Burris, Executive Director of NPE and the report's author. "These are not states struggling with limited resources. They have made deliberate choices to abandon their public schools while directing billions in public dollars to private alternatives."

The report draws on original research in addition to research from other organizations — including the Education Law Center, the Learning Policy Institute, and EdChoice — to deliver a comprehensive assessment of public education and privatization across 39 distinct factors. These include teacher-to-student ratios, teacher satisfaction, school funding levels, and the degree to which laws governing vouchers, charter schools, and homeschools protect both taxpayers and students.

Public Schooling in America also provides a roadmap for reform, showing policymakers and advocates exactly where laws and policies must change to better serve students and rein in the serious, well-documented problems created by privatized alternatives.

"Public schools are the only institutions in American life obligated to welcome every child, regardless of circumstance," NPE President Diane Ravitch added. "They build community and democracy. They are as American as apple pie."

The full report is available here.

About the Network for Public Education

The Network for Public Education is a nonprofit advocacy organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, and strengthening public schools for every child in America.

Media Contact:

Carol Burris, Executive Director
Network for Public Education
[email protected]
646-678-4477

SOURCE Network for Public Education