President Trump’s education plans are in motion. I will touch on a few of the most recent developments here.
School Choice
On July 4, President Trump approved legislation allowing the federal tax scholarship program to proceed. The Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) offers a tax credit that individuals can use to lower their tax bills by donating money for private school expenses for students. The program is set to begin in 2027. Individuals (not corporations) who donate can cut their tax liability by $1 for every $1 donated to accredited Scholarship-Granting Organizations (SGOs), up to $1,700. The SGOs must be federally recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations.
The program makes students eligible for the scholarship funds if their families’ income does not exceed 300% of the local median gross income—a large pool of potential recipients. For example, in Boise, ID, the median family income is $81,308. So, a family living there would qualify for scholarships if they earned less than $244,000.
The scholarships cover various educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, educational therapies, transportation, and technology. They may also help cover additional costs for students enrolled in public schools.
Additionally, per the law’s final version, states can opt out of participating, meaning no students in those states would be eligible for the program. Politically, this could have consequences. It might be advantageous for Republicans because Democrats are divided on the issue.
While teacher union leaders and white progressives overwhelmingly oppose public support for private schools, school choice remains popular in black and Hispanic communities. In a recent poll, 63% of Hispanics and 68% of Blacks expressed support for a private option.
Nationally, only 39% of public school parents are satisfied with their child’s education, according to an Education Opportunity in America report by 50CAN in 2024.
It’s worth noting that statewide tax-credit scholarships are common. There are 22 such programs in 18 states at this time.
Frozen funds
On June 30, the Trump administration announced its decision to withhold $6.8 billion in federal education funds for K-12 schools. The Office of Management and Budget at the White House said that its review found that states had “grossly misused” the money to “subsidize a radical left-wing agenda.”
Additionally, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon explained that President Trump was upset and embarrassed about the decline in the quality of education children receive. She said about 70% of eighth graders nationwide are not proficient in reading and math. “We are doing something wrong in the way we are educating our students,” and Trump wants all children to have access to a quality education by ultimately giving more control over schools to states and parents.
Putting families first, McMahon said, “Let’s have parents be at the center of that because parents are with their children. They know what is best for their child, and they should have the choice to put their children in schools where they can flourish. No child should be a prisoner of a failing school.”
However, 24 states and the District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on July 14 for withholding these education funds.
Two days after the lawsuit, a letter from U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, and nine other Republican senators urged the administration to unfreeze the education funds and send the money to the states. And on July 25, the administration announced it would do just that.
“We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs,” the senators wrote to Russell Vought, director of the OMB. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”
The senators said the withheld funds supported programs that had backing from both Democrats and Republicans. “These funds go to support programs that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support, like after-school and summer programs that provide learning and enrichment opportunities for school-aged children, which also enable their parents to work and contribute to local economies,” the letter stated.
“While we’re pleased to see crucial dollars going to afterschool programs, which are vital for students across the nation, the bottom line is this: Districts should not be in this impossible position where the Administration is denying funds that had already been appropriated to our public schools by Congress,” David Schuler, executive director of the Schools Superintendents Association, said in a statement. “The remaining funds must be released immediately—America’s children are counting on it.”
Layoffs and dismantling the U.S. DOE
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 14 to allow Trump to proceed with dismantling the U.S. Department of Education through broad layoffs. This would mean around 1,400 employees would be cut from the department, starting in August.
One of the purported reasons the DOE was brought into existence was to lower achievement gaps, but it has done no such thing, having spent over $1 trillion since its inception. The results from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading and math tests, given to 4th and 8th graders, were announced in January and showed that 4th graders continued to lose ground, with reading scores slightly lower, on average, than in 2022 and much lower than in 2019. Currently, only about a third of 4th- and 8th-grade students are proficient in reading and mathematics.
Teacher union leaders are in a big uproar over the potential dissolution of the DOE. In response to Donald Trump’s attempt to eliminate it, National Education Association President Becky Pringle released a statement on Feb 3, asserting that his “latest extreme action will hurt our students and public schools.”
These issues are still developing, and it’s difficult to predict where they will ultimately lead. But for now, things are mostly moving in a positive direction.
Larry Sand, a retired 28-year classroom teacher, is the president of the non-profit California Teachers Empowerment Network—a non-partisan, non-political group dedicated to providing teachers and the general public with reliable and balanced information about professional affiliations and positions on educational issues. The views expressed here are entirely his own.