National School Choice Week is in effect as several states are gearing up for major battles for educational freedom.
School choice will likely be a hot-button issue this year, especially with President Donald Trump being a vocal supporter of providing more options for parents.
On the campaign trail, Trump often touted his support for school choice and advocated for legislation at the federal level. On Monday, the Education Department issued a press release celebrating National School Choice Week.
The U.S. Department of Education today announced, in line with President Trump’s unwavering commitment to expanding school choice and ensuring all American students have access to high-quality education, its recognition and celebration of National School Choice Week. It begins today, Sunday, Jan. 26 and runs through Friday, Jan. 31, 2025. The department will celebrate education freedom by highlighting K-12 education options available to students and families, including traditional public schools, public charters, public magnet schools, online options, private schools, and a wealth of homeschool options.
School choice empowers parents and guardians to pursue the best learning environment for their children. It allows for innovative schooling models and methods that meet the unique needs of students across the nation. Education freedom ensures that a child’s opportunity to access a high-quality education and pursue the American Dream is not determined by his or her zip code.
Jan. 26-Feb.1, 2025 is National School Choice Week! Results are in! 60% of U.S. parents considered sending their children to a different school last year. Dive into this year’s survey results to get a better look at what factors are driving these decisions.https://t.co/jGatBvl3vn
— Lynn's Warriors (@lynns_warriors) January 27, 2025
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In Tennessee, state lawmakers are set to battle it out over providing more educational options for children. Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, put forward the “Education Freedom Act of 2025,” which would establish 20,000 school choice scholarships while expanding Education Savings Accounts for parents to put toward private schooling, tutoring, or other education-related expenses.
The measure is quite popular in the state. A recent poll showed that 67 percent of Tennessee voters either “somewhat” or “strongly” support the proposed legislation.
Even further, about 57 percent indicated they would be more likely to vote for their state legislator if they supported “expanding educational choice to all families across Tennessee.” About 12 percent of respondents indicated supporting this measure would make them less likely to support the candidate while 23 percent indicated it would not influence their votes either way.
Researchers also found that 61 percent of Tennessee voters supported the expansion of charter schools, which the poll defined as “public schools that operate independently from local school boards and are governed by their own boards of directors.”
Texas’ legislature is also preparing for yet another battle over school choice having failed to pass meaningful legislation in its last session. Gov. Greg Abbott, Republican, is determined to prioritize educational freedom for residents of the Lone Star State.
Abbott has been preparing for this battle over the past year, backing candidates in primary elections who supported school choice. As with other states, the notion of providing educational opportunities for students has met with resistance not just from Democrats, but also from Republican state lawmakers – especially those representing rural communities.
The state Senate has actually passed school choice measures on multiple occasions. However, lawmakers in the House have repeatedly killed these bills. Abbott and his allies are hoping for a different outcome this time around.
Nebraska is another significant battleground state that we should watch. The debate over school choice is heating up in the state as it prepares for its next legislative session. Lawmakers are introducing bills aimed at helping students attend private K-12 schools.
The measure was voted down by 57 percent of voters in November. However, State Sen. Tony Sorrentino remains intent on passing it. “I’m not dissuaded by the fact that it was defeated at the ballot box,” he said.
Other bills include the Opportunity Scholarships Act, which would reinstate one-for-one tax breaks to fund scholarships.
Opposition to these school choice initiatives remains strong, with Tim Royers, president of the Nebraska State Education Association, expressing frustration over the legislature's persistence. "We're really looking for our leaders in Lincoln to be championing legislation that's going to tackle the real issues surrounding education and not trying to relitigate something that has already been resolved at the polls," Royers stated. He emphasized the need to focus on critical educational issues like teacher vacancies instead of revisiting school choice debates. Royers also warned that opponents are prepared to counter these legislative moves, asserting, "We will out-resolve them on this issue," indicating readiness for another public vote if necessary.
In each state, there is a clear divide between those who believe parents should have more control over their childrens’ education and those who believe the government should exercise the most power over these decisions. There are folks from both parties on both sides of this debate, which means it is not as partisan an issue as others.
However, the fact remains that government-run schools are largely failing their students. In many instances, students are well below national standards for reading, writing, and mathematics. Since this is the case, school choice is a step in the right direction. Empowering parents, rather than the government, is the only way to ensure that students are getting the education they deserve.
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