Trump: Champion for America’s Youth
With President Biden’s presidential campaign facing challenges after a poor debate performance, and the likelihood of Donald Trump winning in November increasing, the future of national school choice appears promising.
According to a June 30 poll by AtlasIntel, Trump is now tied with Biden in terms of who Americans trust on education policy, marking a significant shift from the long-standing advantage Democrats have held on this issue.
The push for education freedom is gaining momentum as red states implement initiatives such as education savings accounts, vouchers, and other school choice programs. However, blue states still have progress to make in this area.
There is potential for national politicians to make a difference in advancing education freedom. Trump has voiced his support for school choice as a civil rights issue and has pledged to protect parental rights and expand educational freedom for American families.
As part of his platform, Trump has promised to support universal school choice and prioritize the Educational Choice for Children Act currently making its way through Congress. This bill aims to create a federal tax-credit scholarship initiative to expand education freedom to families across the country. The proposal has garnered bipartisan support among Americans.
Twenty states already have tax-credit scholarship programs in place for K-12 education, with successful outcomes seen in states like Florida where public schools have improved due to school-choice competition.
The federal tax-credit scholarship bill has gained momentum in Congress and could become a reality with more support. Trump’s advocacy for education freedom could lead to significant progress in this area, especially as he continues to champion parental rights.
Trump’s commitment to expanding education freedom contrasts with Biden’s opposition to school choice, despite his own private schooling background. As Trump works towards expanding school choice for all Americans, he could see success in making the Educational Choice for Children Act a reality.
Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at the American Federation for Children and a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, authored The Parent Revolution: Rescuing Your Kids from the Radicals Ruining Our Schools (Center Street, 2024).
