In a presidential campaign where education has not seemed like a priority for Donald Trump, policy wonks finally got some details in a speech in which Trump declared he would be the nation’s “biggest cheerleader for school choice” if elected.
Those in the education reform community eagerly awaited Trump’s education speech, but they had to sit through 15 minutes of attacks on Hillary Clinton before they could get it.
When the time for education details finally came, Trump spent about 20 minutes pushing for school choice for all types of schools, including traditional public schools, public charter schools, magnet schools and private schools.
Trump announced a plan to reprioritize $20 billion in federal funds for students living in poverty to have school choice. He did not explain in detail where those funds would come from.
“We want the dollars to follow the students,” Trump said.
He described the plan as a block grant to states, where each state would develop its own formula for distribution to students in poverty. States would have the option of participating, though Trump said he would campaign for participation “in all 50 states.” He called on states to provide funds on top of the federal funds, providing up to $12,000 for each student living in poverty to use at the school of their choice.
Trump’s plan echoes the idea of what in the education policy world is called “Title I portability.” In federal education legislation, Title I funding provides states and school districts with extra funding if they have a disproportionately high number of students living in poverty. The federal government spends roughly $14 billion a year on Title I, or about $500 to $600 per student.
If those funds were portable, it would mean students would have several hundred dollars to use toward their education at a school other than the local school they’re assigned to.
“It’ll be so exciting,” Trump said. “We’ll be saving money.”
In 2015, Congress rewrote No Child Left Behind for the first time since 2002. Legislation passed the House that included portability to any public school of a child’s choice, but not private schools. A vote on an amendment to include the concept in Senate legislation failed. Portability was ultimately stripped out of the final version, which passed with bipartisan majorities and was signed by President Obama in December 2015.
The idea is supported by many conservatives, but Democrats in Congress viewed it as a poison pill that would have killed any chance of passing much-desired education reforms.
Trump also mentioned that he supports merit pay for teachers, but neglected to add detail on how he would push for that at the federal level.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
