Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families
Signed: January 29, 2025
Published: February 3, 2025
Document Number: 2025-02233
📋Summary
This executive order directs federal agencies to promote “education freedom” by helping states use existing federal funds and grant programs to support K–12 school choice options, including private, faith-based, and public charter schools. It affects families—especially low-income working families, military-connected families, and students eligible for Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools—as well as states and school systems that receive federal education and family-related funding. It requires the Department of Education to issue guidance within 60 days on how states can use federal formula funds for school choice, and to prioritize education freedom in discretionary grants; the Departments of Education and Labor must also submit plans within 90 days on how their grants could expand choice. Within 90 days, Health and Human Services must issue guidance on whether block grants (including child care funding) can support educational alternatives, while Defense and Interior must each submit plans for letting eligible families use federal funds for school options of their choice starting in the 2025–26 school year (with Interior also reporting on BIE school performance and nearby alternatives).
💼Business Impact
This order signals a near-term shift of federal education and family-support dollars toward **K–12 “choice” models** (scholarships/ESAs, charter expansion, private/faith-based options), so the most affected businesses are **private and charter school operators, education service providers (curriculum, tutoring, SPED services, transportation), childcare/after‑school providers**, and **employers serving military communities or areas near BIE schools**; traditional public-school vendors may see demand shift by district/state. Expect **new grant and funding-channel opportunities** as Education and Labor add “education freedom” priorities to discretionary grants and as HHS clarifies whether **CCDBG and other block grants** can support non-government options—providers should prepare for **eligibility, reporting, nondiscrimination, background-check/safety, data/privacy, and financial-audit requirements** tied to federal pass-through funds. Immediate actions: **map which of your revenue streams touch federal formula/discretionary funds**, monitor the **60/90-day agency guidance and state implementation**, and start building **partnerships with states, districts, charter networks, and scholarship/ESA administrators** while tightening compliance documentation (policies, enrollment/attendance tracking,
Full Text
Executive Order 14191 of January 29, 2025
Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and to improve the education, well-being, and future success of America's most prized resource, her young citizens, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1 . Purpose. Parents want and deserve the best education for their children. But too many children do not thrive in their assigned, government-run K-12 school. According to this year's National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 70 percent of 8th graders were below proficient in reading, and 72 percent were below proficient in math. Moreover, geographically based school assignments exacerbate the cost of housing in districts with preferred schools, straining the finances of millions of American families sacrificing for their children's futures.
When our public education system fails such a large segment of society, it hinders our national competitiveness and devastates families and communities. For this reason, more than a dozen States have enacted universal K-12 scholarship programs, allowing families—rather than the government—to choose the best educational setting for their children. These States have highlighted the most promising avenue for education reform: educational choice for families and competition for residentially assigned, government-run public schools. The growing body of rigorous research demonstrates that well-designed education-freedom programs improve student achievement and cause nearby public schools to improve their performance.
Sec. 2 . Policy. It is the policy of my Administration to support parents in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children.
Sec. 3 . Guidance on Supporting State-based K-12 Educational Choice. Within 60 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Education shall issue guidance regarding how States can use Federal formula funds to support K-12 educational choice initiatives.
Sec. 4 . Encouraging Education Freedom through Discretionary Grant Programs. (a) The Secretary of Education shall include education freedom as a priority in discretionary grant programs, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law.
(b) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Labor and the Secretary of Education shall review their respective discretionary grant programs and each submit a plan to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, that identifies, evaluates, and makes recommendations regarding using relevant discretionary grant programs to expand education freedom for America's families and teachers.
Sec. 5 . Expanding Opportunities for Low-Income, Working Families. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall issue guidance regarding whether and how States receiving block grants for families and children from the Department, including the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDGB), can use them to expand educational choice and support families who choose educational alternatives to governmental entities, including private and faith-based options.
Sec. 6 . Helping Military Families. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of Defense shall review any available mechanisms under which ( printed page 8860) military-connected families may use funds from the Department of Defense to attend schools of their choice, including private, faith-based, or public charter schools, and submit a plan to the President describing such mechanisms and the steps that would be necessary to implement them beginning in the 2025-26 school year.
Sec. 7 . Helping Children Eligible for Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) Schools. Within 90 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall review any available mechanisms under which families of students eligible to attend BIE schools may use their Federal funding for educational options of their choice, including private, faith-based, or public charter schools, and submit a plan to the President describing such mechanisms and the steps that would be necessary to implement them for the 2025-26 school year. The Secretary shall report on the current performance of BIE schools and identify educational options in nearby areas.
Sec. 8 . General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 29, 2025.