Although a growing body of work addresses the current role of neoliberalism in displacing democratic equality as a goal of public education, attempts to parse such impacts rarely draw from historical accounts. At least one tenet of neoliberalism--the application of business models to public institutions--was also pervasive at the turn of the 20th century. A comparison between the two eras sheds needed light on the mechanisms by which business models displace educational goals. Using science education as a context, this paper draws from historical, theoretical and empirical studies to demonstrate how business paradigms disrupt science education goals related to preparation for democratic participation and equity. As evidence, this paper draw upon historical accounts, as well as findings from a mixed-methods study of how accountability and related institutionalization of business models impacts equity in elementary science education. Institutional theory provides a framework for interpreting the mechanisms of disruption in both eras.