Expansion of Education Freedom in Donald Trump's Second Term - PEPG 25-04 - Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference Papers Series

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai

Expansion of education freedom under Donald Trump’s second term argues that federal education authority should be relinquished to states, local communities, and families through universal school choice. The paper outlines three early initiatives: executive orders to dismantle U.S. Department of Education power, broaden educational freedom, and enact an education-freedom law via federal tax credits for K-12 scholarship organizations. It connects the shift to COVID-19 funding outcomes, noting ESSER did not improve student achievement, alongside political dynamics and persistent challenges like low test scores and chronic absenteeism.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages25

Reading Time1 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Why the Shift?

Policy and electoral context

Program on Education Policy and Governance Conference Papers Series Expansion of Education Freedom in Donald Trump's Second Term Jim Blew 1 PEPG 25-04 This paper was presented at the School Choice Tradeoffs and Evidence-Based Policy Making conference held at the Harvad Kennedy School, May 8-9, 2025 Harvard Kennedy School 79 JFK Street, Taubman 220 Cambridge, MA 02138 Tel: 617-495-7976 Fax: 617-496-4428 [www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/](www.hks.harvard.edu/pepg/) 1 Blew: Defense of Freedom Institute Expansion of Education Freedom in Donald Trump's Second Term Jim Blew, June 2025 Introduction By the time Donald J. Trump was running for president in 2024, he had landed on a clear vision for the federal government’s role in education. In short, he had concluded that the federal government’s power over education should be relinquished to states, local communities, and, most importantly, families. His own words capture the sentiment: “I want every parent in America to be empowered to send their child to a public, private, charter, or faith-based school of their choice. The time for universal school choice has come. As we return education to the states, I will use every power I have to give parents this right.” Campaign quote cited in White House Fact Sheet, March 20, 2025 This clarity and enthusiasm for school choice in 2024 contrasted subtly with his demeanor during his first administration, when I served under former Secretary Betsy DeVos as assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development. During his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump did support school choice and a reduced federal role in education, but those topics were not central to his campaign or his policy agenda. Once elected in 2016, he did pointedly select one of the country’s foremost advocates for education freedom, Betsy DeVos, as his secretary of education. And, he did promote school choice in his first-term State of the Union speeches, but he usually directed Secretary DeVos tobe the key spokesperson on the topic for the administration. He supported education freedom, but he wasn’t yet a champion. Early into his second term, Trump has acted more forcefully and quickly than most expected to restore power over education back to families, states, and local communities. Within his first few weeks in office, he launched three important initiatives to expand school choice and shrink the federal role in education: [www.DFIpolicy.org](www.DFIpolicy.org) • The Dismantling of the U.S. Education Department (USED) Executive Order (EO)—formally called “Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities.” • The School Choice EO—formally called Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families. • An education freedom law—specifically, a federal tax credit for donations to K-12 scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs), embodied in the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) . (This successor to Betsy DeVos’s Education Freedom Scholarships Act could quickly double the number of students across the country taking advantage of “non-public”school choice.) If these efforts are successful, Donald Trump will establish himself as the greatest Education President—the one who did the most to transform our K-12 system and improve education outcomes. This is a claim that, no doubt, will offend fans of prior presidents and their strategies to leverage federal power to reform K-12 education. This much is true: were it not for those earlier experiments and their disappointing results, President Trump would not be positioned to take a wholly different approach—one that relies on families and local communities instead of a federal agency. Why the Shift? Why did President Trump become an enthusiastic champion of parents’ rights to control the education of their children, including their right to choose their school? We can only guess the reasons, but the shift was likely based on both substantive policy

FAQs

What core idea does the paper present about federal power in education?

It argues that the federal government’s power over education should be relinquished to states, local communities, and families, enabling parents to choose among school types.

Which three initiatives does the paper highlight early in Trump’s second term?

It highlights an executive order dismantling U.S. Department of Education authority, a school choice executive order expanding educational freedom, and an education-freedom law using federal tax credits for K-12 scholarship-granting organizations.

How does the paper explain why Trump became a stronger champion for parents’ rights?

It links the shift to both policy changes and electoral politics, emphasizing the disappointing results of COVID-era ESSER funding, persistent low achievement, and political responses to public dissatisfaction with schools.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Fahsai