U.S. K-12 schools began the school year with very different ways of approaching learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most noticeably, many public schools started the year virtually, while numerous private schools are attempting to open classrooms in person. This contrast partially reflects different levels of resources which, along with many other factors, exacerbates existing inequalities affecting students, and will lead to long-term effects not just for disadvantaged students but our society as a whole.

The majority of public schools started the school year remotely. In one survey by Education Week magazine, “74% of the 100 largest school districts, chose remote learning only as their back-to-school instructional model, affecting over 9 million students.” Although many districts are hoping to resume in person instruction soon, Covid-19 cases are continuing to rise in many parts of the country, making this prospect seem more far off than originally hoped. Remote learning can be especially difficult to navigate for many low income families. They must scramble to find resources that would normally be provided by the schools such as childcare, reliable internet access, food, support systems, and a safe place to do work, leading to challenges for these students to do their virtual coursework. For example, without stable internet access, it is difficult for the students to even join and participate in their classes. If their family doesn’t have access to childcare, older siblings may have to step in and take care of their younger siblings at the expense of their own education. These inequalities were clear in the spring when schools first transitioned to online learning, and they are still playing out today.

Many families with sufficient resources have begun to look to alternatives to the remote public schooling system. Private schools are often better equipped to open because they have smaller class sizes, more outdoor space, and larger endowments that allow them to purchase resources to help combat COVID, such as tests, PPE, and air filtration systems. These superior resources allow private schools to attempt to start in-person, and they are reaping the associated awards since they are reporting higher interest, applications, and enrollment by students moving from public schools. Other families are taking advantage of another option by forming “pods” with other families, where they either hire their own teacher or share teaching tasks for a small group, usually between 3 to 10 students. This strategy allows students to retain individualized, in-person attention, which is lacking in larger Zoom classes. It’s too early to know exactly how many students are opting to use this method, but anecdotal evidence suggests that it is increasing in popularity.

This difference in resources has resulted in disparate impacts that will have long-term effects on students. For example, students without access to any in-person instruction will have gone without social interaction during a key developmental stage, especially for Pre-K students, for whom social interaction would help develop moral reasoning. Though most experts think that children will eventually be able to overcome this barrier, this is largely reliant on having attentive caregivers who have the time to socialize with them, which many low-income students may not have. 

It has become increasingly clear that the pandemic and remote learning will lead to students being academically left behind. The quality of K-12 education when delivered online is often worse and is not as effective for student learning because online learning makes it much easier for students to disengage from the classroom. Students can easily access online distractions, they feel less social pressure to stay motivated and on-task, and there can be barriers to asking for help. Moreover, there are additional structural barriers such as unstable internet connection, students having to skip classes to help with childcare/jobs, or not having a good environment to study. As a result, it is estimated that the average student will lose the equivalent of 7 months of learning, but that minority students will likely lose even more, since they are more likely to be in poorly resourced public schools using virtual learning. Since low-income students have even more barriers to overcome with online learning, researchers estimate that this will “exacerbate existing achievement gaps by 15 to 20 percent.” This gap has long-term implications on how students will do in school even when they get back to in-person instruction, impacting achievement down the line and future professional possibilities.

Additionally, students switching from public schools will also create rippling effects on our entire education system. It will likely affect their funding, since there will be less students and public school’s state-granted funding is often determined based on how many students they have. In addition, there are likely to be state budget cuts because of decreased state revenue, due to business closures and possibly reduced property values, and states face increased social program costs as millions of people have become unemployed. This means that public schools will be getting significantly less funding than before the pandemic, even as the demands on their resources increase. 

The financial impacts of the pandemic have begun to manifest themselves as states craft new budgets that account for projected budget shortfalls. For example, Georgia had to cut their state budget by 10 percent, which translates to about $2.2 billion, including $950 million in cuts for K-12 schools. Public schools are reliant on state funding (often based on property taxes) without other viable sources of funding will have to make cuts within their schools. Schools’ dependence on property taxes exacerbates inequalities since the students who are low-income are often in less wealthy areas, meaning that their schools receive less money from property taxes. Additionally, as discussed earlier, many students who are able to are moving to private schools or homeschooling, further reducing school’s funding. Overall, this will lead to a lower quality education for disproportionately low-income and minority students. In Georgia’s budget, there are some efforts that provide help to disadvantaged students that are not currently being cut, like “lottery-funded programs, such as the HOPE scholarship and pre-kindergarten classes for 4-year-olds”. While positive, it is uncertain how long these exceptions will be viable. Economic recovery from the pandemic will take a long time, possibly years, so state governments will be forced to continue to make difficult decisions in order to balance their budgets, probably necessitating further cuts on K-12 education.

We must ensure, however, as state budgets get tighter and the Coronavirus’ effects continue to keep learning primarily virtual, that public school funding is protected. Maintaining public awareness and attention to the budgets is essential, and citizens must object if education is being unduly targeted. Additionally, redirecting some federal funding to the states to fund education is essential, especially during this crisis. Funding education is an initial investment that creates short and long term economic benefits. For example, in the short term, continued funding will help maintain childcare access for families who may not otherwise be able to afford it, allowing parents to continue working. This will help parents, especially mothers, who may otherwise be forced to leave their jobs, setting back their careers and leading to a loss in household earnings. In the long term, providing more education funding will better equip schools to do effective online teaching. This will help mitigate the shift towards private schools if public schools can provide similar levels of education quality, and will help significantly reduce the loss of learning students will experience during this time period. In the long term, educational funding will help lessen the inequality that low-income and minority students experience as a result of the pandemic and online learning, helping set them up for equal opportunities for success later on.

Although we will eventually transition back to in-person instruction, the effects of the pandemic and remote learning will continue to stoke and increase inequity. This will lead to long-term negative effects for low-income and minority students especially, and for future generations of students as funding for schools is reduced. The pandemic will end, but the effects of increased inequality will last a lifetime.