Totally democratic, as schools never are (9)
I believe the answer is:
classless
'totally democratic' is the definition.
'classless' can be an answer for 'democratic' (similar in meaning). I am not certain of the 'totally' bit.
'as schools never are' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'as' is within the answer.
'schools' could be 'ss' (an abbreviation for school written twice) and 'ss' is located in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for classless that I've seen before include "lacking social order" , "having no social distinctions" , "like an unemployed teacher" , "Lacking distinction" , "Society of socialist ideal" .)