Trump Executive Order Boosts School Choice — Will California Finally Catch Up?
National School Choice Week — the last week of January each year – is here again. School choice is simply the ability for families to select the education option that’s best for their children, and states throughout the nation are supporting school choice with charter schools, Education Savings Accounts (ESA’s), school vouchers, scholarships, tax deductions, and more.
California lags behind other states in supporting school choice — a byproduct of having a legislature controlled by teachers unions. Unions oppose alternatives to traditional public schools because more students in the public education system means more money, and more teachers who pay union dues. Unions then use their revenue for political spending.
Currently in the California public school system, less than half (47 percent) of students meet English Language Arts standards, and only 36 of percent students meet math standards. This is despite spending over $23,000 per student.
The National School Choice Awareness Foundation found this month that “more than 60% of U.S. parents of school-aged children considered sending at least one of their children to a different school last year,” with young parents (aged 18 to 29), Black parents, and Hispanic parents more likely to search for new schools.
Importantly, parents who indicate that they are interested in switching schools are increasingly gravitating toward alternatives to traditional public schools. Compared to the 2022-2024 average, parents in 2025 are more likely to consider charter schools (a +7% change), private or faith-based schools (a +24% change), online schools (a +17% change), homeschooling (a +39% change), and microschools/hybrid learning (a whopping +220% change).
In contrast, interest in traditional neighborhood public schools declined by 22 percent, according to the research.
While enrollment in traditional neighborhood public schools is still the most popular education option, the cultural momentum is shifting toward selecting more personalized options. Interest in non-traditional public schools will not fade any time soon, and California leaders should be more open to choice-friendly policies and legislation.
This week, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order, “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families.” The order “recognizes that parents, not the government, play a fundamental role in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children,” explains a White House Fact Sheet. The fact sheet also emphasizes that “every child deserves the best education available, regardless of their zip code,” a cornerstone of school choice policy.
The order directs the Department of Education to issue guidance on how states can use federal funding formulas to support K-12 scholarship programs, and to prioritize school choice programs in discretionary grant programs. It also instructs the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on “how states receiving block grants for children and families can use those funds to support educational alternatives, including private and faith-based options.”
Additionally, the order requires the Secretaries of Defense and the Interior to develop plans enabling military families and families with students attending Bureau of Indian Education schools to use federal funds to send their children to the school of their choice.
With federal momentum behind school choice, California legislators have an opportunity to empower parents with more educational options. A great place to start is Senate Bill 64, the school choice bill introduced again this year by California State Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield). The legislation would establish flex accounts that California families can use for K-12 tuition and school expenses, but was blocked last year by teacher union-backed Democrats on the Senate Education Committee.
With new federal funding on the horizon that may help fund school choice flex accounts, California legislators have a responsibility to their constituents to give Grove’s bill a fair hearing.
Sheridan Swanson is the research manager at California Policy Center.
