“President Donald Trump wants parents throughout the nation to be empowered to direct their children’s education.”
The White House will hold a roundtable on school choice this Friday, bringing together top Republican governors amid recent legislative victories on the issue across the country.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who led a significant school choice initiative in her state, will moderate the National School Choice Week Roundtable at noon on Friday, according to a White House official. Joining her will be Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, whose state recently passed a universal school choice bill, and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, where similar legislation is expected to advance.
“The White House is excited to honor National School Choice Week with this roundtable,” a senior White House official stated. “President Donald Trump wants parents throughout the nation to be empowered to direct their children’s education.”
Universal school choice allows parents to use public funds for various educational options, including private schools. Currently, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming are moving forward with significant legislation on the issue, while twelve states—including Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Arizona—already offer universal school choice.
Republican Governors Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Jeff Landry of Louisiana are also expected to attend the roundtable in the Roosevelt Room, according to the White House.
The event follows Trump’s recent executive order on school choice, directing his administration to explore ways to expand education options using federal funds.
“Parents want and deserve the best education for their children,” Trump stated in the order. “But too many children do not thrive in their assigned, government-run K-12 school. It is the policy of my Administration to support parents in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children.”
Additional attendees include Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) and his wife Erika Donalds of the America First Policy Institute, Archdiocese of New York Chancellor John Cahill, Jeff Yass of Susquehanna International Group (SIG), and Jonathan Williams from the American Legislative Exchange Council.
Trump has long championed school choice, advocating for parents to have the ability to send their children to public, private, charter, or faith-based schools.
“A child’s fate should be determined by their love of education, by their parents, by so many factors,” he said during his 2024 campaign. “But it can’t be determined by a ZIP code. And no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government-run school.”
He also reiterated his commitment to universal school choice, stating, “We will let federal education dollars follow the child instead of propping up a woke federal bureaucracy.”
During the 2016 election, Trump set a national goal of ensuring school choice for every American child in poverty, adding in a 2016 speech, “If we can put a man on the moon, dig out the Panama Canal, and win two world wars, then I have no doubt that we as a nation can provide school choice to every disadvantaged child in America.”
The roundtable will likely focus on key legislation, such as Tennessee’s Education Freedom Act, which recently passed both legislative chambers and would provide over $7,000 per child for private K-12 schooling.
In Texas, a proposed bill would make universal school choice immediately available to up to 100,000 students in its first year, offering $10,000 for private school students, $11,500 for special needs students, and $2,000 for homeschoolers.
Wyoming’s Freedom Scholarship Act, which recently passed the House and is expected to clear the Senate, would provide families with $7,000 per student annually.
