On January 29, 2025, President Trump signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families,” aimed at increasing school choice and expanding alternatives to K-12 public schools, including private, faith-based, and charter school options. President Trump also issued a fact sheet to accompany the EO.
Key Provisions
The EO directs the Department of Education to issue guidance within 60 days on how states can use federal funds to support K-12 scholarship programs that provide families with alternatives to public schools. The EO also directs the Department of Education to prioritize school choice programs in the Department’s discretionary grant programs. Relatedly, the EO directs the Department of Education and Department of Labor to review discretionary grant programs and develop a plan within 90 days to prioritize funding for school choice initiatives.
The EO requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance within 90 days on whether block grants for children and families can be used to support private and faith-based educational alternatives.
The EO directs the Department of Defense to assess and report within 90 days on ways that military-connected families can use federal education funds to attend private, faith-based, or charter schools starting in the 2025-26 school year. Similarly, the EO directs the Department of the Interior to review and explore within 90 days the mechanisms for families of students eligible for Bureau of Indian Education schools can use federal education funds to attend private, faith-based, or charter schools starting in the 2025-26 school year.