Center for Education Reform: Trump Budget Proposal “A Hopeful Sign for Student-Centered Education”

A school choice advocacy group today described the Trump administration’s proposed budget for the U.S. Department of Education as a “more concerted effort to channel dollars more directly to the needs of children and families instead of to programs and to districts.”

CER Founder and CEO Jeanne Allen noted that not only does the budget add $1 billion in Title I funds, but requires the money to follow students to the public schools they choose to attend rather than to the districts they left. “This puts federal policy precisely where it should be – following state efforts,” she said.

“Supporting education choices for students is a natural and long overdue move by the federal government,” Allen continued. “The federal government has not kept up with the dramatic changes in the education landscape occurring at the state and local levels.”

Programs that CER has long worked to create and expand, such as Charter schools, private scholarship programs, and other innovative programs, are rarely recognized or supported by federal funding streams.

“The budget is a significant step forward,” Allen said. “The administration is listening and committed to reform.”

In early January, CER released The First 100 Days: An Agenda for Federal Action on Education which urged the Trump Administration to launch initiatives to serve as the basis for programs that provide students with access to truly exceptional education at all levels.

“We’re delighted to see some of The First 100 Days reflected in the newly-released budget proposal, but mostly we’re encouraged and excited by the new thinking it represents for Washington,” Allen concluded.