Why Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students

This week, editors Matt Welch, Katherine Mangu-Ward, and Nick Gillespie are joined by Senior Producer Zach Weissmueller to discuss why public schools have lost 1.4 million students since the pandemic even as their budgets have grown. They examine the rise of school choice, microschools, and other alternatives to traditional public education. They discuss why families are increasingly opting out and whether declining enrollment will finally force public schools to rethink how they operate.

The panel then discusses Vice President J.D. Vance’s proposal to make federal childcare subsidies available to married couples with a stay-at-home parent. They also reflect on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks and the ways the government’s response permanently changed American life, from the formation of the Transportation Security Administration to warrantless surveillance and the growth of the national security state. Finally, a listener asks whether recent food safety scares can be blamed on cuts to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and how markets could keep food safe with a much smaller regulatory role.

0:00—School choice is winning.

25:12—Federal subsidies for stay-at-home parents

39:15—Listener question on the FDA and food safety

46:59—What has changed most since 9/11?

57:20—Weekly cultural recommendations

Upcoming Reason Events

The Reason Roundtable’s 10th Anniversary—Live in NYC! October 7

Mentioned in the podcast:

“We Have Already Passed Peak Public School,” by Matt Welch

“American Public Schools Lost 1.4 Million Students Since COVID. Their Budgets Grew by 34% Anyway,” by Tosin Akintola

“The Rise of Florida’s ‘Microschools,'” by Zach Weissmueller

“Why I Left California for Florida,” by Zach Weissmueller

“Does School Choice Help Students Learn? All Signs Point To Yes,” by Nick Gillespie

“The Decade of Decline in Seattle Public Schools,” by Sandeep Kaushik

“Trump Officials Draft Plan to Pay At-Home Parents, Using Funds for Working Ones,” by Coral Davenport

“Storks Don’t Take Orders From the State,” by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

“Make America Fertile Again: The Strange Bedfellows of the New Baby Boom Agenda,” by Elizabeth Nolan Brown

“J.D. Vance and the Politics of Victimhood,” by Stephanie Slade

“Study: Even Well-Intentioned Regulators Do More Harm Than Good,” by J.D. Tuccille