Troy Hutchings, Ed.D.
Senior Policy Advisor, NASDTEC

Private and Public: Honoring the Norms of a Chosen Profession

The battle had been brewing for quite some time – but it took a Supreme Court case in 1925 to settle the matter.

State laws requiring students to attend ONLY public schools were being drafted in the early 20^th Century – primarily due to fears associated with an influx of European immigrants. Public schools were expected to socialize students into a national culture, and private parochial schools were viewed by many as an obstacle to successful acculturation.

One such state law, Oregon’s Compulsory Education Act was passed in 1922 – essentially shutting down all private schools in that state. But the United States Supreme Court unanimously upheld a federal district court’s decision to overturn the Oregon law in the case of Pierce v. Society of Sisters – ensuring private schools (religious and nonsectarian) have a place in American education.^_[1]

And nearly 100 years later – according to the National Center for Education Statistics – there are close to 35,000 private schools employing over 509,000 teachers in the United States.^[2]

And while there will always be ‘public v. private school’ debates among impassioned proponents, the heartbeat of all schooling systems remains the same – caring and committed educators working diligently to provide the very best educational experience for students and their families.

I recently had the privilege of facilitating an all-day professional ethics workshop with the faculty, staff and administration of a large faith-based private PK-12 school. We grappled with the challenges and ethical landmines inherent to the education profession and utilized the Model Code of Ethics for Educators to frame our work – all while sitting in a beautiful chapel complete with pews, a pulpit and stained-glass windows!

And most assuredly, the conversations surrounding professional ethics were just as relevant and impactful in that setting as they have been in district auditoriums filled with public school educators.

While it’s true the complexities encountered by practitioners within differing educational structures might have a slightly different flavor, the ethical challenges and competing tensions are remarkably similar.

And that’s where the utility of the MCEE really shines. The axioms framed within our profession’s code of ethics should resonate with all educators regardless of setting. Quite simply, the Code allows for nuance and context while informing a standard of practice based on common professional values.

Professional ethics goes well beyond institutional and ideological differences – allowing educators to practice their craft within school structures of their choosing, while simultaneously honoring the norms of their chosen profession.

[1] Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925)

[2] National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved on March 24, 2022. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=28#:~:text=Response%3A,and%20509%2C200%20private%20school%20teachers