Update single common column in multiple has-many relationships rails
(Converted a comment into this answer)

If all the records should use @private_school.price_type as their own price_type, then make them fetch it from the school they belong to - don't duplicate the same value across a bunch of tables when you already have it in one place. Keep the database normalized.

Simplest way to do this is to add a price_type method to each of the non-school models. The method simply fetches and returns &lt;belongs_to relation&gt;.price_type. I.e. Document#price_type would call its owner's method, which would be LessonPlan#price_type, which would call it's owner, etc.. until it hits the school's price_type attribute.

It's not the most efficient as it may need to load some records in the chain, but it's a start.