WASHINGTON – President Trump took aim at the state of American education, accusing schools of falling short academically while promoting his school choice agenda as a stronger path forward for families and students.
“They were failing at a thing called education, with only 30 percent of the students proficient in reading and math,” Trump said Monday during a school choice event. “That was under the last administration.”
With students across the country preparing to return to classrooms, Trump pledged to roll back several education policies from the Biden era, said he would push to bring whole milk back into school cafeterias, and framed his school choice plan as a way to give parents more control over where and how their children learn.
“We’re putting the parents back in charge. They’re the ones that love our children. They’re the ones that should be in charge,” the president said from the Rose Garden.
Trump also cast the effort as part of a broader campaign to reshape classroom culture, saying, “As we remove the far left extremism from the classroom, we’re taking historic action to ensure that every child in America has access to a first-class education.”
A central piece of his pitch was the school choice provision included in his “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which established a federal tax credit designed to expand access to scholarships through approved scholarship-granting organizations. States must choose to participate, and so far, 30 have opted in.
Under the program, taxpayers may donate up to $1,700 to a qualified scholarship organization and receive the amount back through a full refund. Families awarded scholarships can use the funds for core education expenses such as tuition and books at public, private or religious schools.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has signaled interest in the education initiative, but the state has not yet formally joined the program, even as parents continue urging her to opt in.
“Governor Hochul is supportive of the federal tax credit scholarship and its potential to help all New York students and schools. Our office awaits information from the federal government on the program and will thoroughly review the details of the policy,” a spokesperson for the governor told The Post.
The president, meanwhile, pointed to the many changes made in the education system under his tenure, bragged about ending “critical race theory and transgender insanity” in schools, bringing back the presidential fitness test, and returning whole milk as a drink option in the cafeteria, saying kids will be able to “have great milk the way it is supposed to be.”
In honor of the country’s 250th birthday, the president said he was bringing back “patriotic education for our youth” through a series of mobile museums that will travel around the country to teach children “about the heroes who have made America the most exceptional nation in history.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon praised the administration’s work.
“This school year marks a return to common sense in American education,” she said.
She pointed to the administration’s efforts to return decisions about school to the states, including giving six state waivers to make their own education decisions.
“Key decisions that once sat with bureaucrats here in Washington D.C. are moving to where they belong, to the hands of educators, parents, and local leaders who know these children best,” she said.
Her department has granted Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, South Dakota, Arkansas and Vermont “Returning Education to the States” waivers, which give states greater control over their federal dollars.
“These waivers allow state leaders to direct federal dollars towards what makes the most sense for their students, and not what Washington thinks is best for those students,” she said.
And 25 states have been granted EdFlex authority, which allows them to waive certain federal requirements without first having to receive approval from the Education Department.
Trump, meanwhile, was excited about the construction of the White House helipad visible from the Rose Garden as he spoke.
At the end of the event, he invited the kids and parents in the audience to come with him on a tour of it.
“If you’d like to follow me, especially with the kids, the kids could see construction. I love the sound of construction,” he said.
