Premiumization in Education and Project 2025: A Looming Disaster for Students with IEPs

Premiumization in education is not just a trend; it’s a glaring symptom of capitalism’s relentless invasion of our public school system. This insidious process creates bastions of privilege masquerading as “elite” institutions, offering lavish resources and personalised attention at exorbitant costs. Schools like Horace Mann in New York and St. Mark’s in Texas aren’t just attracting affluent families; they’re fortifying the walls of educational apartheid, leaving students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) out in the cold.

Enter Project 2025, a Trojan horse for the complete dismantling of public education as we know it. This isn’t an overhaul; it’s a hostile takeover. Under the guise of “school choice” and “efficiency,” it aims to gut federal oversight, push voucher programs, and implement so-called “performance-based” funding. Make no mistake: this is neoliberalism at its most predatory, transforming our children’s futures into commodities to be traded on the open market.

The unholy alliance of premiumization and Project 2025 spells disaster for students with IEPs. As a special education teacher in a Title 1 high school, I’ve witnessed firsthand the struggles these students face. Project 2025 doesn’t just pose a threat; it’s an all-out assault on their right to an equitable education. It will strip away resources, erect insurmountable financial barriers, and segregate our most vulnerable learners. This isn’t reform; it’s educational eugenics, designed to leave those with the greatest needs behind whilst the privileged few reap the benefits. We must fight this capitalist corruption of our education system before it's too late.

Understanding Premiumisation in Education

Premiumisation in education isn’t just a trend; it’s a blatant manifestation of educational apartheid. These so-called ‘high-end’ schools are nothing more than ivory towers of privilege, fortifying the walls of inequality under the guise of ‘superior’ education. Let’s call this what it is: a systemic effort to segregate the wealthy from the rest, ensuring their progeny maintain a chokehold on societal advantages.

The exorbitant fees these institutions charge aren’t about ‘quality;’ they’re a deliberate barrier, a ‘keep out’ sign to those deemed unworthy by virtue of their bank balance. Sure, they boast state-of-the-art facilities and resources, but let’s not pretend this is about providing the ‘best possible learning environment.’ It's about hoarding opportunities, plain and simple.

Their ‘exclusive’ academic programmes? A façade of rigour designed to perpetuate the myth of meritocracy. Small class sizes and personalised attention? Luxuries denied to the masses, not necessities for learning. The ‘high-profile’ staff they attract? Often more concerned with prestige than pedagogy, their expertise a commodity sold to the highest bidder.

Perhaps most insidious is their selective admissions process. This isn’t about maintaining standards; it’s about curating a homogenous student body that reflects and reinforces existing power structures. They’re not fostering diversity; they’re breeding elitism.

The marketing of these schools is particularly galling. Glossy brochures and lavish events aren’t about education; they’re about selling exclusivity, about reassuring the wealthy that their children will be safely ensconced away from the ‘riff-raff.’

Examples like Horace Mann ($61,900/year), St. Mark’s ($35,821/year), Brearley ($64,100/year), and Trinity ($58,495/year) aren’t bastions of educational excellence. They’re monuments to inequality, perpetuating a cycle of privilege that’s choking the life out of equal opportunity. This isn't education; it’s social engineering, and it’s time we called it out for what it is.

Overview of Project 2025’s gutting of the free public school in the US

Project 2025 isn’t an ‘overhaul’ of the U.S. education system; it’s a calculated assault on public education, thinly veiled as ‘reform.’ This initiative is nothing short of a neoliberal wet dream, designed to dismantle public schools and auction off our children’s futures to the highest bidder.

Let’s cut through the doublespeak: ‘School choice’ is a euphemism for segregation. Voucher programmes aren’t about options; they’re about siphoning public funds into private coffers, leaving public schools to wither on the vine. This isn’t competition; it’s educational darwinism, where only the privileged survive.

Charter schools? They’re Trojan horses for privatisation, operating with less oversight and accountability. The ‘flexibility’ touted by supporters is often code for cutting corners on quality education, particularly for students with special needs.

Decreasing federal oversight isn’t about local control; it’s about dismantling protections for vulnerable students. This ‘decentralisation’ is a recipe for a patchwork system where your postcode determines your educational destiny.

The ‘performance-based funding models’ are perhaps the most insidious aspect. They’re not about incentivising success; they're about punishing schools that serve the most challenging populations. These models rely on standardised tests recently exposed as inherently racist, perpetuating systemic inequalities under the guise of ‘accountability.’

Make no mistake: Project 2025 is neoliberal austerity on steroids. It’s not about improving education; it’s about turning schools into businesses and students into commodities. The ‘market-driven approach’ is a euphemism for the commodification of learning. ‘Fiscal conservatism’ is code for starving public schools of resources.

This isn’t reform; it’s educational eugenics. Project 2025 threatens to exacerbate inequalities, marginalise vulnerable students, and create an educational caste system. It’s a blueprint for dismantling public education, and we must fight it tooth and nail.

Impact of Premiumisation on Students with IEPs

In the ruthless landscape of premiumised education, students with IEPs aren’t just left behind – they’re systematically excluded and marginalised. This isn’t an oversight; it’s educational eugenics in action.

Let’s be clear: ‘premium schools,’ with their obsession with ‘excellence’ and exclusivity, are actively hostile to students with IEPs. They’d rather pour money into shiny facilities and ‘elite’ programs than provide essential support for diverse learners. It's not about education; it’s about maintaining a facade of superiority.

The financial barriers aren’t just high – they’re deliberately insurmountable. Even with vouchers, these schools remain fortresses of privilege, their gates firmly closed to students with high support needs. This isn’t about quality; it’s about keeping the ‘undesirables’ out.

The inconsistency in special education services isn’t an accident; it’s a feature of this broken system. Some schools might offer token support, but many see students with IEPs as liabilities to be avoided. This creates a cruel lottery where a student’s ZIP code determines whether they’ll receive bare-minimum support or be left to sink or swim.

We’re witnessing the creation of an educational apartheid. As premium schools become more exclusive, students with IEPs are ghettoised in underfunded public schools, stripped of resources and opportunities. This isn’t just segregation; it’s a deliberate strategy to concentrate ‘problem’ students away from the ‘privileged elite.’

The long-term consequences are devastating. We’re not just limiting these students’ educational opportunities; we’re crushing their future prospects, condemning them to cycles of poverty and dependence. This isn’t just about individual students; it’s about perpetuating a system of social stratification.

The community impact is equally alarming. By failing these students, we’re breeding instability, unemployment, and increased reliance on social services. It’s a ticking time bomb of social and economic costs that will explode in our faces if left unchecked.

Let’s call this what it is: the premiumisation of education is a tool for social engineering, designed to reinforce existing power structures and keep marginalised groups in their place. It’s no coincidence that organisations like the Heritage Foundation, with their evangelical roots and long-standing aversion to difference and disability, are pushing these policies. They’re not interested in education; they’re interested in maintaining a social order where the privileged few thrive at the expense of the many.

This system isn’t broken; it’s functioning exactly as intended – as a machine for perpetuating inequality. It’s high time we dismantled it and built something truly equitable in its place.

Project 2025 and Its Potential to Worsen Inequities

Project 2025 isn’t just exacerbating inequalities; it’s a calculated assault on students with IEPs, designed to purge them from the educational system. Make no mistake - the Heritage Foundation knows exactly what they’re doing. They’re not ignorant; they’re indifferent to the suffering they’ll cause.

Their ‘school choice’ rhetoric is a smokescreen for institutionalised discrimination. Vouchers aren’t a lifeline; they’re a cruel joke that doesn’t come close to covering elite school tuition. It’s a rigged game where students with IEPs are set up to fail. Private and charter schools, with their selective admissions, aren’t just maintaining standards; they're actively culling the ‘undesirables’ from their ranks. The result? A modern-day educational apartheid, with high-need students warehoused in crumbling public schools.

Reducing federal oversight isn’t about empowering local communities; it’s about dismantling protections for vulnerable students. Without federal guardrails, we’ll see a race to the bottom in special education services. Some states will become educational deserts for students with IEPs, whilst others maintain a facade of support. This isn’t diversity; it’s a blueprint for systemic neglect.

Their ‘performance-based funding’ is nothing short of educational eugenics. Schools serving students with IEPs will be starved of resources, creating a vicious cycle of underfunding and underperformance. It’s a deliberate strategy to suffocate schools that serve our most vulnerable students, all under the guise of ‘accountability.’

As public schools buckle under the weight of increased need and decreased funding, we’re looking at an impending catastrophe. Overcrowded classrooms, overwhelmed teachers, and evaporating support services aren’t unintended consequences - they’re the desired outcome for those who see students with IEPs as burdens rather than human beings deserving of dignity and education.

The Heritage Foundation and their ilk aren’t oblivious to these outcomes; they’re banking on them. Their vision of education has no place for diversity, for struggle, for anything that doesn’t fit their narrow definition of ‘excellence.’ They're perfectly content to sacrifice a generation of students with IEPs on the altar of their ideology.

This isn’t reform; it’s a systematic dismantling of educational equity. It’s a deliberate strategy to marginalise, exclude, and ultimately eliminate educational opportunities for students with IEPs. We’re not just fighting bad policy; we’re fighting against a worldview that sees some students as inherently less worthy of education and opportunity. It’s time to call out this bigotry masquerading as reform and fight like hell for every student’s right to a quality education.

Final thoughts …

Let’s cut through the BS: Premiumisation and Project 2025 aren’t just threats to students with IEPs - they’re a declaration of war on educational equity. This isn’t reform; it's a calculated assault on our most vulnerable learners, designed to entrench privilege and discard those deemed ‘unprofitable.’

Make no mistake, this is capitalism’s endgame in education. It’s not about choice or quality; it’s about creating educational monopolies and oligopolies. The public purse is being looted to fuel this corporate takeover, leaving students with IEPs to rot in the decaying husk of what was once public education.

The consequences will be catastrophic. We’re not just talking about reduced support or financial barriers - we’re looking at the systematic exclusion of an entire group of students from meaningful education. This isn’t just limiting their future; it’s actively destroying it. We’re breeding a permanent underclass, trapped in cycles of poverty and dependence, all to feed the insatiable maw of educational profiteers.

It’s simply not possible to ‘counter negative effects.’ We need to banish this proposal for good and all. We don’t need it’s ‘equitable policies’ - we need a revolution in education. Robust public funding already isn’t enough; we need to completely decommodify education. Federal oversight? Sure, but let's make it actually enforce educational rights instead of pandering to corporate interests.

Inclusion isn’t a policy; it’s a non-negotiable right. Every school, every classroom, must be equipped and mandated to support every student, regardless of their needs. Anything less is educational malpractice.

It’s time to get angry. It’s time to get loud. Engage with policymakers? No, demand their resignations if they support this travesty. Support initiatives? No, create them. We need to build a movement that refuses to accept the crumbs of ‘reform’ and instead demands a complete overhaul of our educational system.

This is a fight for the soul of our society. Will we be a nation that values every student, that sees education as a right and not a privilege? Or will we surrender to the forces of greed and exclusion, condemning countless students to a future of marginalisation and poverty?

The choice is ours. The time for polite discourse is over. It's time to stand up, speak out, and fight like hell for every student’s right to a quality education. Anything less is complicity in this educational apartheid. The stakes are too high for half-measures. It’s time for radical, systemic change. Our students’ futures depend on it.