FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Secretary of Education Linda McMahon expects half of U.S. states to opt in to education freedom initiatives.
“I think we’ll get at least to 25 and hopefully more,” she told The Daily Signal in an exclusive interview.
McMahon said she is going to make a big announcement designating Jan. 25–31 as National School Choice Week.
President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” created a new federal income tax credit of up to $1,700 per year for donations to scholarship-granting organizations. Students in states that opt in can access the funds for private school scholarships.
So far, 15 states have opted in, and McMahon expects that number to increase to at least 25.
McMahon said she will be traveling and talking about school choice all week.
“It’s really a special week because the president absolutely believes in school choice,” she said. “He’s the first president to get a national school choice bill.”
McMahon praised Iowa governor Kim Reynolds, a Republican, who spent two terms fighting for school choice in her state.
The Education Secretary touted that the Department of Education increased the Charter Schools Program funding by $60 million this year, raising the program’s total budget to $500 million.
“That’s a record,” she said. “We’re very happy about that.”
The Treasury Department needs to begin rule making on the school choice tax credits established in the Big Beautiful Bill before next January. McMahon expects that process to be successful.
“I think we’re going to be very successful in getting through this process,” she said. “I think Treasury is totally on board with it. That’s where it appropriately resides.”
