School Choice for Everyone? Trump's Latest Round of Executive Orders

https://pjmedia.com/ ^ | January 29, 2025 | Sarah Anderson

[Jonty30]

The "Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families" EO is all about working to ensure every child in this country has access to school choice, something several states are already focused on. It gives the secretary of Education 60 days to "issue guidance regarding how States can use Federal formula funds to support K-12 educational choice initiatives." The president claims that all parents should have a say in how their children are raised, including how they're educated.

The EO states:

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. According to this year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 70 percent of 8th graders were below proficient in reading, and 72 percent were below proficient in math. Moreover, geographically based school assignments exacerbate the cost of housing in districts with preferred schools, straining the finances of millions of American families sacrificing for their children’s futures.

When our public education system fails such a large segment of society, it hinders our national competitiveness and devastates families and communities. For this reason, 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. These States have highlighted the most promising avenue for education reform: educational choice for families and competition for residentially assigned, government-run public schools. The growing body of rigorous research demonstrates that well-designed education-freedom programs improve student achievement and cause nearby public schools to improve their performance.

[Jonty30]

Awesome.

[Jonty30]

It is where education belongs.

[Frank Drebin]

It needs to be further solidified with congressional legislation, not simply an EO that can be undone with a pen.

[rlmorel]

The F***up-ed-ness of education has more to do with Teachers Unions than anything else.

The Fed should have zero say in education. None.

It should all be done at the local and state level, including funding. All of it.

[rlmorel]

I agree completely and wholeheartedly.

[Jonty30]

I totally agree. I fully support shutting down the DEA and eliminating the teacher’s union. We should do that today.

[rlmorel]

THAT is in Project 2025.
Awesome.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: The Fed should have zero say in education. None. ::

Which is why I am not as joyous over this EO as others here.
This on entrenches the DoEd bureaucrats further into a useless Federal Department.

[Parley Baer]

People want a traditional education. You are not getting that in most public schools. Parents do not want their children to be taught critical race theory and all of this gay BS.

[SoConPubbie]

Which is why I am not as joyous over this EO as others here. This on entrenches the DoEd bureaucrats further into a useless Federal Department.

Sometimes you have to take baby steps when you can while you work towards a major overhaul.

[Texas Eagle]

Yasssss!

[ROCKLOBSTER]

You want well-educated graduates?

Defund the government schools.

[Honorary Serb]

Good!

However, it was good whenI was growing up in Arizona, and I could walk to excellent elementary and high school!

The high school proved its excellence, because it sent individual graduates to Princeton, Smith, Stanford, and MIT (me), and hordes of graduates to the University of Arizona. That is not true with that high school today.

School choice might catalyze the return of excellence to large numbers of our schools. American high school graduates MUST be able to read whole books, do math (up to calculus in many cases), know American history and civics, and have a shot at our best universities!

[lurk]

Not a fan of the Feds within a mile of education. Let the states figure out school choice.

[Brian Griffin]

The primary problem is with the students.

Cell Phone math time

Cell Phone reading puzzle time

Failure to pass the day’s Cell Phone test means no surfing or messaging for 24 hours!

[hinckley buzzard]

This has the potential to make a real difference. Excellent.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

Awesome, indeed. Too bad the EO didn’t include “Teachers’ Unions are hereby outlawed.”

Then, in another EO, he could continue with “All public worker unions are hereby outlawed.”

All public unions are a total disaster because they work against all taxpayers.

[sgt_lau]

Somebody has to come out and say it: Teachers Unions are the reason for the problems the public schools face. Full stop.

[MrsMNJohnnie]

AMEN!!!

[rlmorel]

We can enjoy this. It is a step. But you are correct, Cletus.D.Yokel, it needs to be codified.

And there is hope, because up to this point, it sure looks like Trump DID read Project 2025.

This is the opening page of the Education section of Project 2025. There it is, in the opening sentence of the opening page:

(I made it a personal project to actually READ Project 2025, but ran out of time and only got about 50-60% of the way through it.)

And if you look at what Trump has done so far (in less than a week and a half) it is pretty clear that if he didn't read it, he has people working with him who have, because a lot of the things he has done line up well with it.

So...be of good cheer, FRiend!