As President Donald Trump begins his term in office, Washington will soon be consumed with “reconciliation,” a process that allows the party that controls the White House and both houses of Congress to pass a major bill with a simple majority. It is a unique window of opportunity to do big and bold policy that advances freedom, liberty, and opportunity for the people.
As we observe National School Choice Week, one group should not be left out of reconciliation: K-12 parents and students. The way to achieve that goal is to include the Educational Choice for Children Act, a scholarship tax credit that will help parents of up to 2 million students across all 50 states choose the best school or education for their child.
This policy idea was championed by Trump and former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, and it is unfinished business from the first Trump administration. It is also widely popular. In the last Congress, the ECCA had more than 180 co-sponsors in the House and Senate.
The beauty of the ECCA is it’s funded by private donations to nonprofit scholarship-granting organizations and adds funding for K-12 education. Donors receive a federal tax credit, while students across all 50 states will get a scholarship to use at a school or for education services chosen by their parents, such as an education savings account.
Importantly, the ECCA is not a federal program. It has no role for the U.S. Department of Education and doesn’t require any new federal money. Taxpayers who make donations get the tax credit, but their financial bottom line does not change. They can give more of their money to Uncle Sam, or they can contribute to scholarship-granting organizations to help a lot of K-12 students from lower and middle-income families get a great education.
More than half the states in the country have created or expanded education freedom for K-12 parents and students over the last five years. Nationwide school choice complements those efforts because the scholarship can be stacked on top of existing state offerings, increasing purchasing power for parents and helping more students. Many states, however, remain education freedom deserts, and the ECCA would create educational opportunity for students in those states.
It is time to reimagine education by allowing students to be in the educational environment that best meets their unique needs. ECCA scholarships could be used for tuition, tutoring, special needs services, education technology, or curriculum materials. Students who wish to attend private, public, charter, micro, magnet, or home schools can all benefit. And these opportunities would not be limited geographically.
Trump is poised to be the school choice president if he goes all-in for a big and bold scholarship tax credit. The 2024 Republican platform called for universal school choice, something 12 states have already passed. The president expressed his strong support for school choice throughout the general election and, when asked if he would sign scholarship tax credit legislation, enthusiastically said yes.
The president, renowned for having his hand on the pulse of the people, also knows this is an issue that matters to voters who have joined his coalition. More than 70% of all voters support school choice, with support especially strong among black and Latino voters and K-12 parents. A December 2023 poll from RealClear Opinion Research showed 76% of voters were more inclined to support a candidate who supports school choice. In fact, in several states, Republican state legislative candidates lost primaries because they opposed school choice.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
More than 20 years of research has proven that students who receive choice scholarships benefit tremendously. They are more likely to graduate high school and go on to college, a trade school, or the military. They are less likely to commit crimes and more likely to be civic-minded. Surrounding public schools benefit and improve from the existence of school choice options.
Education freedom, school choice, is not some abstract concept, but proven policy that is currently helping more than a million students access a great education and improving educational outcomes across the board. The states are acting boldly. It is time for Congress to act boldly, to complement the work being done in many states and to facilitate opportunity in states that restrict education freedom for parents and students. Reconciliation should include specific and meaningful help for America’s K-12 parents and students by including the Educational Choice for Children Act.
John Schilling is senior advisor for American Federation for Children and Defense of Freedom Institute.