Pandemic pods are inequitable and inevitable — and a dream come true for the school choice movement

• As students and parents prepare for an uncertain back-to-school season, the concept of pandemic pods has risen in popularity, and in practice.
• But these pods are likely to exacerbate preexisting inequality, and intensify the loaded debate over "school choice," which has a complex history when it comes to race and class.
• School choice, in its simplest form, it is an ideology that calls for parents to have the freedom to choose where their children go to school — whether that's public, private, or charter school.
• Already, governors in South Carolina and Oklahoma have moved to allocate federal funding to private schools, and two senators have introduced the "School Choice Now Act," which would provide money for scholarship-granting organizations to give families direct educational assistance — which could be used for private schools and homeschooling.
• Jennifer Berkshire, co-host of the education podcast "Have You Heard" and author of the upcoming book "A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School," told Business Insider that "this could really usher in the end of a public education system."

In the fall of 2019, around 50 million kids attended public school and almost 6 million were in private schools. In 2017, the most recent data available indicates that around 3 million students were in charter schools.

But by the spring of 2020, the idea of a physical classroom was a thing of the past, scrambling all of these categories.

As the coronavirus pandemic in America shows no sign of stopping or slowing down, parents are scrambling to figure out what the fall will look like for their kids. With some school districts potentially going fully remote, and others — like New York City — moving to hybrid models, parents are scrambling for safe alternatives and much-needed childcare.

One such replacement is the idea of pod-style learning, in which, as Insider's Nadine Jolie Courtney reported, families plan on joining forces to create small groups with local children for "pods" that would replace schools. These pods may end up paying thousands for private tutors or teachers.

There are obvious benefits to podding, as early evidence suggests online learning is a disaster in terms of engagement, and in-person classes seem unsafe in many locations where coronavirus infections have risen.

Also, as sociologist Jessica Calarco writes for Business Insider, pods address key issues apart from education — like lack of childcare and socialization — that concerned parents are up against in the fall.

But the drawbacks are just as obvious, too: Pods would widen the already deep chasm of educational inequities, especially as parents may opt to pull students out of public schools (which, as Courtney notes, are funded based on the number of students they have).

There's actually already a movement afoot that seeks to help parents withdraw from the school system, as they would in the case of pods. It's called "school choice" and it's been at the center of discussions about inequities in education for years.

The conditions of the pandemic — and the newfound popularity of pods — dovetail with the dreams of school choice advocates

School choice is a complex idea; in its simplest form, it is an ideology that calls for parents to have the freedom to choose where their children go to school — whether that's public, private, or charter school. Two formidable allies of the movement are President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. In fact, prior to joining Trump's cabinet in 2016, DeVos had a long track record of advocating for vouchers for parochial and private schools, and for expanding charter schools.

As Valerie Strauss of The Washington Post notes in a comprehensive explainer, school choice is not a monolithic movement; those like DeVos are more in favor of vouchers issued by the state that could be used for private schools, while the Obama administration was more in favor of expanding the overall number of charter schools.

Jennifer Berkshire, the co-host of education podcast "Have You Heard" and author of the upcoming book "A Wolf at the Schoolhouse Door: The Dismantling of Public Education and the Future of School," told Business Insider that school choice advocates had been making substantial progress before the pandemic, supplemented by a recent Supreme Court win.

But as the right tried to "push these very ambitious school choice programs," Berkshire said they went too far — inspiring what she called electoral backlash, including in Texas.

And then the pandemic hit.

"This is the biggest opportunity they've ever had," Berkshire said.

Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced the School Choice Now Act on Wednesday, which would, among other measures, provide emergency funding for scholarship-granting organizations that would give families direct educational assistance — including for private schools and homeschooling. Parents would get to choose what type of school their child attends.

"All parents, regardless of income or circumstance, should be able to decide which school best meets their child's needs, whether that school is public or private," Alexander said in a press release. "The School Choice Now Act provides scholarships to students to have the opportunity to return to the private school they attended before the pandemic — and gives other students a new opportunity to attend private school."

Alexander did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Sen. Scott provided Business Insider with the comment: "As a supporter of School Choice legislation, I am a firm believer that a child's zip code should not dictate his or her access to quality education nor define the child's future. As we respond to and navigate this unprecedented pandemic, students must remain our core focus. While distance learning has proven effective in some places, concerning gaps in quality and access to learning have emerged. As some schools and districts struggle more than others to address the challenges at hand and deliver student-oriented solutions, working families deserve options. We must ensure that all children have access to the necessary resources and opportunities — especially education — to live a successful life. I'm thankful for the support of Chairman Alexander on the School Choice Now Act and hope that my colleagues will support our nation's most vulnerable youth by passing my legislation."

In a statement to Business Insider, Philadelphia councilmember and education activist Kendra Brooks said, "The School Choice Now Act is yet another example of the GOP prioritizing profit over people. Why are we bailing out private schools, many of which have already received small business loans and other forms of relief, when our public schools have been hit the hardest by the pandemic?"

When it comes to the text of the act itself, "it's one of those things where if you don't look beyond the very surface of it, it sounds fine. It's like any school choice thing, where the phrase school choice sounds good," doctoral student and educator J.P.B. Gerald told Business Insider.

Gerald, who recently wrote in The Washington Post about the inequities that pods can present, said it's hard to find anyone who disagrees that a person should be able to choose where they go to school, "but when you get into how it actually manifests, it leads to more inequities."

School choice pushes are happening on the state level too

In South Carolina, Gov.Henry McMaster has tried to allocate $32 million in federal funding for private school tuition vouchers — a measure that has been temporarily blocked. In Oklahoma, Gov. Kevin Stitt said he would direct $10 million out of $40 million in federal funding to students who attend private schools.

"This innovative use of federal funds means students will be able to stay in their schools of choice while others may have access for the first time to educational opportunities that were previously out of reach," Robert Enlow, president and CEO of EdChoice, a pro-school choice nonprofit, said in a press release praising McMaster.

And many parents who are considering pods may just be attempting to keep their children safe, all while navigating things like Trump's calls to fully reopen and the CDC backtracking on stricter recommendations.

Both Gerald and Calarco note that there are alternatives to private pods, like the group of Oakland parents who created a free summer program to provide technology and instruction to the community. Gerald recommended that parents seek out anti-racist groups who are already doing this kind of work.

But Berkshire said that, overall, "parents are responding very rationally."

"Parents are scared for the health and wellbeing of their children," she said. "If you're in a place where the virus is really rampaging, how much faith are you going to put in your elected officials that they even care about safety in school?"

She added: "This could really usher in the end of a public education system."

And even direct funding from school choice legislation could make things that much more unequal, Berkshire said; consider a family that is using those funds to purchase internet access for the first time versus one that is able to use them to hire a graduate student from Yale for private tutoring.

"One of the things that the pandemic did was just reveal the unbelievable inequity among students," Berkshire said.

She added: "I see school choice as throwing gasoline on that."