On the heels of a historic presidential campaign dominated by fiery debates on the economy, immigration, and America’s standing in the world, school choice received relatively less attention throughout the race. However, with the onset of the new year and President Donald Trump kicking off his second term, education freedom could soon take center stage.
In recent years, a growing handful of red and purple states have made major strides on the school choice front. One of the most significant wins came in West Virginia in 2021, when legislators passed a landmark education savings account program that allows families to use their education tax dollars for private school tuition and tutoring, among “other educational expenses.” Despite left-wing legal challenges, the law was ultimately upheld by the West Virginia Supreme Court, setting the stage for a school choice legislative blitz.
In the months following the Mountain State’s victory, Arizona, Utah, and Arkansas also delivered victories for school choice. In 2024, Alabama and Louisiana followed suit in enacting education scholarship accounts, or state-authorized accounts that parents are empowered to use for academic expenses, including private school tuition.
Meanwhile, Georgia and Wyoming have launched new school choice programs targeting specific student populations—namely students in low-performing schools and families below certain income levels. Florida, Mississippi, Missouri, and Oklahoma expanded or otherwise improved their preexisting programs. By the end of 2024, the total tally of states with some variation of a school choice program reached 34—an impressive testament to the power of the parental rights movement and the desire among parents and families from every background to determine the best educational model for their children.
Looking ahead to the rest of 2025, there is potential for even greater victories in the school choice revolution.
On the state level, all eyes are now on Texas—a state that has long stood on the front lines of conservative priorities and pro-family causes, but is oddly lagging behind on the school choice front.
In 2023, a bill that school choice advocates hoped would make it through the Republican-controlled legislature ultimately died, marking a frustrating conclusion to the state legislative session that was otherwise a banner session for conservative social priorities.
According to The Dallas Morning News, the 2023 bill—which would have provided Texas families with $8,000 for private school tuition or homeschooling costs—faced backlash not only from Democrats but also from some rural Republicans who feared the legislation would hurt schools in their districts, apparently buying into liberal fearmongering about the legislation. The failure of the bill was the fifth time since 2015 that the Republican-controlled Texas legislature failed to pass school choice legislation. Ultimately, 21 Republicans joined 63 Democrats in voting down the bill.
“It died in a Republican-controlled House each time. That is unacceptable and inexcusable,” Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick recently said of the streak.
Last year, however, Texas Governor Greg Abbott worked to primary 10 Republican state legislators who opposed the legislation and succeeded in unseating seven—paving the way for a new legislative session in which the Lone Star State can finally give parents the freedom to have a say in their children’s education.
Legislators in five additional states (Idaho, Kansas, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota) are also poised to launch new school choice programs this year. And six other states (Georgia, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) are considering options to expand eligibility or investment in preexisting programs.
On the federal level, school choice proponents also have every reason to be optimistic.
With his selection of Linda McMahon to serve as Secretary of Education, Trump has signaled a willingness to reform the Department of Education, which has long been corrupted by left-wing ideology and bureaucratic forces. Upon her confirmation, McMahon will be well-positioned to fulfill some of the conservatives’ top priorities to expand educational freedom and protect parental rights.
During the campaign, Trump pledged to “implement massive funding preferences and favorable treatment for all states and school districts” that prioritize four specific reforms: the abolition of tenure for K-12 teachers; a “drastic” cut to the “bloated number of school administrators” (particularly the so-called “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” bureaucracy); adoption of a “parental bill of rights” that promotes curriculum transparency and universal school choice; and finally, the implementation of “direct election” of school principals by parents. “If any principal is not getting the job done, the parents should be able to vote to fire them and select someone who will,” Trump said. “This will be the ultimate form of local control.”
Additionally, McMahon has voiced support for increased access to vocational education programs, as well as for expanding the Pell Grant to apprenticeships and other workforce training initiatives, which could create more high-paying jobs for Americans entering the workforce.
These policy proposals indicate that the Trump administration intends to build on its educational freedom achievements during Trump’s first term in the White House. Notably, Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 allowed parents to use up to $10,000 from an education savings account to pay for K-12 tuition costs at schools of their choice.
As the fight for freedom in education marches on in 2025, conservatives have many reasons to be hopeful about reforming our nation’s education system and ending the reign of political indoctrination in American classrooms. By every indication, the conservative movement’s school choice revolution is only just beginning—and 2025 is poised to be a banner year.
Aaron Flanigan is a contributor to AMAC Newsline.
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