Trump signs sweeping executive order to expand school choice

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signed a sweeping executive order Wednesday that would prioritize and free up federal funding to expand school choice programs.

The order impacts several federal departments and directs the Education Department to prioritize school choice programs through its discretionary grants, in addition to issuing guidance to states about federal allocations to districts and schools, a senior White House official said.

“Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Education shall issue guidance regarding how States can use Federal formula funds to support K-12 educational choice initiatives,” the order says.

The order, entitled "Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families," directs the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance that explains how states receiving block grants for families and children can use that money for faith-based and private institutions within the next 90 days.

It also directs Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to present a plan to Trump for how military families can use Pentagon funds to send their children to schools of their choosing, and directs the interior secretary to submit a plan for how students at Bureau of Indian Education schools can take advantage of federal funds for school choice.

CBS News first reported that Trump was expected to sign the order.

Frederick Hess, the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a center-right think tank, said the move is "clearly a stark shift in emphasis for Washington."

"Given the dismal results on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, released today, I’m pleased to see the administration doing what it can to ensure families have access to more and better choices," Hess said. "While there are significant limits to what’s possible, given statutory constraints and Washington’s modest role in K-12 schooling, it’s notable that the administration is doing what it can to extend the parental choice rather than stymie it — a pattern that was all too familiar during the past four years.”

Derrell Bradford, the president of 50CAN, a nonprofit group that supports school choice, said the executive order "is timely, given many governors, families, students and educators across the nation, in all types of schools, are celebrating National School Choice Week right now. I, and I am sure many other advocates at the state level, look forward to seeing the recommendations put forth on this uniquely popular issue.”

The Education Department announced Sunday that it was recognizing this week as National School Choice Week, highlighting "education freedom" by sharing options for students and families, including public schools, charter schools, private schools and home-schooling.

"School choice empowers parents and guardians to pursue the best learning environment for their children," the department said in a release. "It allows for innovative schooling models and methods that meet the unique needs of students across the nation."

Critics of school choice, which provides vouchers allowing families to pick schools for their children, argue that it hurts public schools.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said at the union’s annual convention last year that research shows vouchers “negatively affect achievement.”

“Today, vouchers subsidize wealthy families who already send their kids to private and religious schools,” she said. “Privatizers fund those giveaways by defunding and destabilizing public schools.”

Trump campaigned on expanding school choice programs, and during the transition period, his spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, said he believed that "school choice is the civil rights issue of our time" and that it would "ensure all families have access to a great education, no matter their ZIP code."

The Senate has not yet confirmed Trump's nominee for education secretary, Linda McMahon, the former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO who was head of the Small Business Administration during Trump’s first administration.

Yamiche Alcindor and Rebecca Shabad reported from Washington. Dareh Gregorian reported from New York.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com