Why can't schools be administered strictly on a local level? Why can't rural schools emphasize "hard skills" and conservative values without interference from the "Big City", demanding that sex ed and tolerance for "alternative lifestyles" must take the place of PE, welding, etc?
Because we, as a society, generally believe that every child deserves roughly the same educational opportunities as any other child.
In this day and age, whether that be rural or urban (and remember, most Americans
are urban), that involves a weak version of 'college prep.' Parents don't want junior written off to vocational school early on (in their opinion - me, I wish I could have taken metal shop in school), they want him to go to college whether or not that's good for him.
Tolerance of 'alternative lifestyles' - I don't even know what that means. Where are kids being force to 'love the gays' or something in defiance of the community feelings/religion?
Sex ed - real sex ed, not that abstinence crap - is good policy.