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During National School Choice Week, Trump issues executive order to use federal funds to expand choice

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Courtesy of The White House

On Jan. 29, 2025, during National School Choice Week, President Donald Trump signed a presidential action titled, “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families.”

This executive order establishes that “it is the policy of my Administration to support parents in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children.” 

Withing 60 days, the Secretary of Education is ordered to issue guidance on how states can use federal funds to support K-12 educational choice initiatives, and within 90 days, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education will review their respective discretionary grant programs and submit plans to the president that identify, evaluate, and make recommendations regarding using discretionary grant programs to expand choice.

Within 90 days, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is ordered to issue guidance regarding whether and how states receiving block grants for families and children, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDGB), can use them to expand educational choice, including private and faith-based options.

The presidential action also orders a review of educational choice for military-connected families and for families eligible to attend Bureau of Indian Education schools.

Trump, in the executive order, notes, “more than a dozen States have enacted universal K-12 scholarship programs, allowing families — rather than the government — to choose the best educational setting for their children.”

The order says the public education system fails a large segment of society.

Here is a fact sheet on the order from the White House.

The U.S. Department of Education issued this press release, announcing that some federal funding for charters is being fast tracked and eliminating other barriers to support.

In North Carolina, according to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, “School Performance grades continue to show a steady increase of schools earning an A, B or C, while the number of schools earning a D or F declined nearly two percentage points. The number of schools exceeding or meeting growth increased as well. Approximately 72.5% of schools met or exceeded growth in 2023-24, compared to 72.3% in 2022-23 and up from 69.6% in 2021-22.”