Private Schools and Equal Educational Opportunity, United States and South Africa

Private schools are by definition nonpublic schools. Generally, they are created and sustained by the human constituencies served, rather than by the local, state, or governments within those jurisdictions. Unlike students in public schools, for whom the full cost of attendance is subsidized by the state, nonpublic school students need private capital in order to attend. Full tuition must be paid by families, by scholarships, or by special vouchers to the school. In the United States, for example, parents of school-age children pay taxes to support public schools along with the rest of the populace, but may separately arrange to cover full tuition for any of their children who attend nonpublic (private) schools.

As regionally accredited educational institutions, nonpublic schools adhere closely to a system of ...