The first private schools go back to the 16th century, with Catholic missionaries teaching children in Louisiana and Florida. This set the stage for formal schooling in Massachusetts. However, the difference between private and public education wasn't an issue during colonial times. Schools were run by church and civil leaders. However, parents were the main factor in educating their young.
The common-school movement, which promoted the idea of schools being totally funded by the government, started in the 1830s. This began the movement for free public schooling for all U.S. children. Advocates for common schools contended that schools could encourage a common culture among the different ethnic groups that had settled in the United States. People supporting common schools rejected government funding for private schools, particularly Catholic schools.
As more Catholics immigrated to the U.S. in the second half of the 1800s, Catholic leaders sensed that most public schools had a Protestant bias. They were uncomfortable that the King James version of the Bible was used rather than the Catholic version. As a result, a separate and private Catholic school developed in the 1880s. In Pierce v. Society of Sisters in 1925, even more lines were drawn between private and public schools. Because of Pierce v. Society of Sisters, a law was overturned that had required students in Oregon to attend public schools. The court ruled that states lacked power to "standardize" students to a particular public school system.
Enrollment in Catholic schools skyrocketed from 1900 to 1950. However, this declined beginning in the 1960s because of various changes happening in society. While public schools grew more secular and not as biased toward Protestantism, Catholics began preferring less dogmatism and wanting more of a mainstreamed education for their children, making public schools more desirable.
Growing secularism in public schools caused concern among conservative Christians. As a result, Christians, mostly Protestants, set up private schools focusing on religion. Enrollments in Christian schools have grown since the 1960s, adding to the increase of private schools.
Private schools have been attacked because opponents call them "elitist." Studies done in the 1980s contradict that accusation. One study from 1982 by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights used 64 schools in eight cities. The study showed that the success of minority students in secondary Catholic schools exceeded that of minority students at public schools.
As the 21st century dawned, another type of private schooling continued to grow, known as home schooling. About 1.5 million students in the U.S. were home-schooled in spring 2007, according to the Department of Education. This is a 2.9 percent increase since 1999. Reasons for home schooling were mainly for providing religious or moral instruction. About 21 percent of parents noted concerns regarding school environment, with about 17 percent saying they were dissatisfied with public school education.