President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at redirecting federal funds to expand school choice programs.
On Wednesday, the president signed an order titled, “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families.” The order directs multiple government agencies to develop strategies to increase access to school choice options.
“Parents want and deserve the best education for their children. But too many children do not thrive in their assigned, government-run K-12 school,” Trump stated in the order.
The president has tasked the heads of the Department of Labor and the Department of Education with reviewing discretionary grant programs and submitting plans to “expand education freedom for America’s families and teachers.” Within 60 days, the Secretary of Education must provide guidance on how states can use federal funds to support school choice initiatives.
“The Secretary of Education shall include education freedom as a priority in discretionary grant programs, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law,” the order stated.
The decision has drawn criticism from public education advocates. Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, condemned the move, calling it an “attack” on parents and claiming it would “diminish choice.”
“Americans of all political stripes want safe and welcoming public schools where kids are engaged and have the knowledge and skills to thrive in careers, college and life,” Weingarten said in a statement. “This plan is a direct attack on all that parents and families hold dear; it’s a ham-fisted, recycled and likely illegal scheme to diminish choice and deny classrooms resources to pay for tax cuts for billionaires.”
However, school choice advocates have praised the initiative for giving more freedom to parents amid an unstable education landscape.
“President Trump just showed the American people why he won the parent vote by 9 points,” said Corey DeAngelis, senior fellow at the American Culture Project and executive director of the Educational Freedom Institute, in a statement to Fox News. “Parents want to be able to direct the upbringing of their children. Parents need to be in charge of their children’s education, not the government.”
