“Public” Schools in Name Only? 2,800 U.S. Public Schools Serve Virtually No Poor Students

Complete report.

More than 1.7 million American children attend “private public schools” where low-income pupils make up less than 5 percent of the student body, a new analysis finds. In some metropolitan areas, as many as one in six public-school students—and one in four white youngsters—attends such schools. Nationwide, more children attend “private public schools” than attend charter schools.

The analysis examined public elementary, middle, and high schools, using information from the federal government’s Common Core of Data for 2007-2008. Among the national findings:

• 2,817 “private public schools” exist across the United States.

• While 17 percent of public school students nationwide are African-American, that’s true of just 3 percent of the pupils in “private public schools.” Hispanic students account for 21 percent of the nationwide public school population, but 12 percent of the students in “private public schools.”

• On the other hand, Asian students comprise 5 percent of public school students nationwide but 10 percent of students in “private public schools.” And white students account for 75 percent of the “private public school” population, compared to 56 percent of public school students nationwide.

Among states and major metropolitan areas, there’s great variation:

• More than one child in ten attends “private public schools” in Connecticut (18%), New Jersey (17%), South Dakota (16%), Arizona (14%), and Massachusetts (12%).

• n twenty-three other states, however, no more than 1 percent of the public school population is enrolled in “private public schools.” These include Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, and North Carolina.

• The metro areas with the largest shares of students in “private public schools” include Boston (16%), New York (13%), Phoenix (11%), San Francisco (10%) and Denver (9%).

• In some metro areas, a high percentage of white students in public schools attend “private public schools:” New York (27%), San Francisco (21%), Boston (20%), Philadelphia (14%), Denver (14%) and Los Angeles (13%).