Abstract America's traditional public schools are facing challenges that may ultimately lead to their extinction. From their beginnings, some criticized them for being secular schools when much of the country was religious and wary of government. Today, the Internet has amplified conservative voices, swaying public opinion against government-run schools, and citizens' opinions of them are extremely divided. School choice options have increased for homeschooling and private schools, and public charter enrollment has exploded, all competing with and siphoning funds from traditional public schools often accused of indoctrinating students in liberal ideology. These developments, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic and culture wars, damage traditional public schools and hurt literacy goals. Funding reductions mean fewer resources for struggling readers and difficulties retaining small class sizes in early grades that would contribute immensely to literacy development. Teachers are deeply dissatisfied, and states report difficulty in hiring qualified teachers for language arts and reading. Students' literacy development suffers. It is only when we better understand how literacy instruction and students' literacy achievements in traditional public schools are affected by efforts to dismantle these schools that we can begin to advocate for policies and constructive solutions for rebuilding them so they will serve all children well.