How Trump's National School Choice Program Might Work

Could Florida's program for funneling public dollars to private schools become a national model under the Trump Administration? In his recent address to Congress, followed by his first official school visit a few days later, President Trump highlighted the state's tax credit scholarship program for allowing "disadvantaged youth" to attend a "public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school." Specifically, his praise has been for a model that gives businesses tax breaks for donating money to nonprofit organizations. Those groups then give students scholarships to private or parochial schools. 

Trump campaigned on a platform supporting school choice, a notion that opponents resist for reasons including the potential blurring (or obliterating) of church and state, uneven progress for many students who benefit from these programs, and inadequate regulation of the use of public money. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has also called Florida a model for school reform. 

Los Angeles Times (03/05/17)