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What Does “Public Education” Mean?

By Theresa Fritz Camoriano

Last Thursday, I attended a press conference in which Kentucky State Rep. Stan Lee presented a bill that would provide scholarships to students with learning disabilities.  As the parent of a child with learning disabilities who is now in college, I spoke about our experiences and explained that I support this bill because it would enable families to get the help their children need.  In an article published the next day, State Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, a member of the House Education Committee, was quoted in opposition to the bill.  She said, "That's probably unconstitutional and bad public policy…Surely the House will see that it's a misuse of public funds." As I read her comments, I wondered, what does she think “Public Education” means?

I hope Rep. Marzian would agree that “Public Education” means educating all the children of our state in order to prepare them for a productive, enjoyable, and satisfying life, but her statement suggests that she believes “Public Education” means supporting the public school bureaucracy.  While public schools provide a good education to many children, they often do a very poor job of educating children who have special needs.  Does Rep. Marzian really think it is bad public policy and a misuse of public funds to rescue those children from the schools that continue to fail them? 

The state legislature may pass laws requiring public schools to provide a good education to every child, but that does not mean it really will happen.  While we were busy trying to work within the education bureaucracy, our usually happy daughter was changing into a child who cried every day.  We suddenly realized that we could not afford to spend any more time trying to work within the system.  Fortunately, we found a private school that could help her, but we had to pay twice – once in taxes to support the public school that had failed her, and then again for the private school that helped.  Many families cannot afford to pay twice, so their children are trapped.  If “Public Education” means providing a good education for all of Kentucky’s children, including those with special needs, then using public funds to trap those children in schools that fail to educate them is not good public policy.  If Rep. Marzian really cared about the children, she would support Rep. Lee’s bill.

Theresa Camoriano is a patent attorney in Louisville and has two daughters who have attended both public and private schools and who are now in college.

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