Trump signs school choice and funding orders
President Donald Trump has signed two executive orders on school funding to fulfill the promises he made on the campaign path.
Fox-32 Chicago
Texas families are now one of many states where public funds can be used to pay for private education, such as private schools and homeschooling.
On May 3, Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed the law on the School Choice Bill, allocating $1 billion for use by around 100,000 students for alternative school tuition or other educational purposes. Money can be used to pay for textbooks, Academic tests, transportation to school, computers, school day meals.
Students who apply for and receive the scholarship will win approximately $10,500 to pay tuition at alternative schools, while students with disabilities will receive up to $30,000.
The Texas Universal School Selection Program comes months after President Donald Trump directed several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Education, to prioritize school selection programs.
The passing of the Texas Universal School choice marks the end of a three-year saga that has repeatedly rejected the idea that state Republicans are using public funds to pay for alternative schools.
Fuerta, who studies school choices across the US from a national lens, does not consider the Texas change in mind to be a “fork moment” popular in the school choice movement, as voters in three states rejected school choice measures in the November 2024 election before Trump re-entered his federal office.
But the switching of school choices in Texas could mean that the Trump administration is increasingly pressure on the nation, and the pressure to implement ideas is gaining momentum, Huerta said. Trump congratulated Li, Don Patrick, one of the bill’s authors, for what he called “the biggest launch of the school selection program in American history.”
“What’s important nationwide is direct lobbying from the federal government, and direct lobbying from Trump administrators in threatening many Republicans who are reluctant to vote for it,” Fuerta said. Fuerta mentioned news reports that Trump and Elon Musk had put pressure on their Texas home to pass the program.
Longtime school voucher program opponents claim that the Universal School Selection Program will benefit wealthy families who are already enrolled in private or other alternative schools and who can already buy them. Children who receive state funding for the school through the choice programme will be given additional resources. They say it can widen the achievement gap between low-income communities and students with disabilities. Others argue that school selection programs strip the critical state funds from public schools that require it.
Advocates for rural Texas public schools argue that state funding should remain in public schools. They say that school selection programs do not benefit families living in rural areas, like those living in urban areas. They say other school options are often inaccessible. Homeschooling groups often reject the idea of state-funded grants because they fear to invite government regulations on homeschooling.
Nevertheless, supporters have called Texas law a major victory in the school choice movement.
Choice of schools in Texas and later
Texas is part of an increase in Republican-led states that have been passing school selection programs since the Covid-19 pandemic. At the time, some parents pulled their children out of neighbourhood schools and closed campuses to private schools, charter school homeschooling and other alternatives to try remote learning. Many families registered children in alternative school options after neighborhood public schools were reopened and returned to in-person learning.
Supporters of the National Schools Choice Movement are promoting Texas as another victory.
There are school selection programs in at least 35 states, as well as Washington, DC and Puerto Rico, according to Group Edchoice’s National School Selection Dashboard. These programs include educational savings accounts, charter schools, and especially vouchers dedicated to private schools.
Before this latest bill through charter schools and district-to-district relocation options were passed, school choices existed in Texas. The expansion of school choice in Texas is reminiscent of school choice victory in GOP-led states such as Tennessee and Wyoming, said Shelby Doyle, vice president of public awareness at the Pro School Choice Organization National Schools’ Choice Awareness Foundation. Both states passed the Universal School Choice Act this year, allowing families living there to spend public funds on non-public schools.
The wider selection of schools in solitude gives current and future generations more options about where to go to school, she said.
“When I think about this new private school selection program, that’s the end of the discussion about whether school selection will really become a new normal,” Doyle said.
Huerta, from Columbia University’s Teacher College, said it is still unclear whether there will be enough space for private schools and other schooling options for children who are not yet enrolled.
He said there are often issues with supply and demand for the logistics end of universal school selection programs.
“The fear then is that once the voucher appears, it suddenly becomes an attractive option for the family,” Fuerta said. “There’s a flood of people who want to leave public schools and go to private schools, but they’re not very capable.”
“Texas has long been one of the biggest holdouts in the school selection movement.”
Advocates of school choice argue that the pivot to Texas’ universal school choice is a movement victory. They predict that state programs will affect the country in particular, given the large amount of money they have allocated to help them move from nearby public schools.
Edchoice President and CEO Robert Enlow, called the signing of the Abbott Signature Bill, is the official “a monumental step for parental empowerment and student opportunities, not just for Texas, but for the people.”
“Texas has long been one of the biggest holdouts on educational freedom and has not offered a school selection program.
Please contact Kayla Jimenez (kjimenez@usatoday.com). Follow her on the X on @kaylajjimenez.
