ABSTRACT
The authors of this chapter share how the protection of public education as a public good, rather than an individualistic good or commodity to be bought and sold, is foundational to the health of our democratic society. They show how privatization of education and the neoliberal market forces that have been driving reforms since the 1980s, including the expansion of charter schools and school vouchers, have negatively impacted students, increased racial and economic segregation, and widened the opportunity and equity gaps in our education system. The chapter concludes with a call for society to reclaim education as a cornerstone of democracy, with public oversight and commitment to equitable opportunity and quality education for all students, thus preventing the agendas of individuals from reinforcing the socioeconomic and racial disparities that are already a problem in American society, its schools, and within its democracy.
