school choice

In January, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and American Center for Transforming Education Director Keri D. Ingraham participated in the important School Choice Roundtable at the White House during National School Choice Week. That event marked one of many in which the White House has recognized Ingraham’s significant contributions toward advancing education freedom. Following the event, the White House released a short video featuring Dr. Ingraham. Click HERE to watch the video or click on the image below: Fast forward eight months and incredible progress has been made. In March, Dr. Ingraham wrote, “The department has overhauled operations — cutting nearly half its staff, reducing administrative layers, and consolidating offices. Grants have been streamlined, programs merged, reporting reduced, and oversight of Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on The Carrie Abbott Show on September 17 to discuss the education progress underway at the federal level. Dr. Ingraham offers insight into the various ways the Trump Administration and the U.S. Department of Education under Secretary McMahon are returning education to the states and expanding education freedom nationwide.

President Donald Trump’s recent White House “Back to School and Education Freedom Event” showcased the extraordinary progress his administration has made in just a year and a half to replace federal overreach with parental empowerment and education freedom. As President Trump declared in his remarks, “We’re systematically ending every single one of these radical left betrayals, and we’re putting the parents back in charge. They’re the ones that love our children. They’re the ones that should be in charge.” President Trump and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon understand the fundamental truth that parents, not distant government bureaucrats, belong in the driver’s seat of their children’s education. One of the Trump administration’s most consequential achievements is the nation’s first Education Freedom Tax Credit scholarship program, Read More ›

For far too long, Washington has expanded its control over K-12 education while student learning has continued to decline. However, President Trump is changing course by returning education to the states, advancing education freedom, and restoring parents’ rightful authority over their children’s education. After decades of federal overreach, a long-overdue hard reset for American education is underway. The U.S. Department of Education has been a 45-year, astronomically expensive failure. More than $3 trillion has been spent without improving student learning. While states receive only about 10% of their education funding from the federal government, those dollars bring a disproportionate burden of rules, regulations, and bureaucracy. The result is less freedom to innovate, higher costs, and decision-making increasingly removed from students, parents, and local Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on Newsmax to discuss the continued advancement of school choice under the Trump Administration. Ingraham addresses the 45-year failure of the U.S. Department of Education and why returning education to the states is crucial for the improvement of academic outcomes. She also explains the exciting new Education Freedom Tax Credit and how Americans can contribute to a scholarship-granting organization to help children and, in turn, receive a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit up to $1,700 a year. This interview followed Ingraham’s participation in Monday’s “Back to School and Education Freedom Event” at the White House.

On August 24, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and American Center for Transforming Education Director Keri D. Ingraham participated in the “Back to School and Education Freedom Event,” hosted at the White House by invitation of President Trump. The event brought together students, parents, educators, policymakers, and education leaders from across the country to celebrate historic wins for education freedom, the protection of parental rights, and working to move K-12 education control out of Washington and back to the states where it rightfully belongs. From the steps outside the Oval Office, President Trump greeted guests seated in the Rose Garden and delivered remarks. He noted that our country’s education has been “weaponized against the goals that we all stand for.” More Read More ›

A poll by the Cato Institute found that over 60% of Americans aged 18-29 hold a “favorable view” of socialism, with 34% saying the same of communism. By contrast, 98% of those age 65 and over have an “unfavorable” view of communism. This shift did not emerge overnight. With an anti-capitalist and anti-free-market worldview taught in K-12 education, Gen Z has been conditioned to view socialism not just favorably but as superior to capitalism, free enterprise, and free markets. At the same time, rising housing costs, inflation, and affordability concerns have made promises like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s government-owned grocery stores, rent freezes, and universal child care sound like solutions. If we want future generations to preserve America’s prosperity, students must learn why capitalism Read More ›

Last week, Iowa led the nation with the first Workforce Pell Grant program in the country approved by the U.S. Department of Education. According to a press release from the Department, it is “a major milestone in expanding faster, more affordable pathways to careers in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations.” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds explained that “Now, the Workforce Pell program will allow schools to fast-track students within eight to 15 weeks into rewarding careers with little-to-no debt, expanding high-quality career opportunities and paving the way to a stronger and more resilient economy.” Director of the Iowa Department of Education McKenzie Snow said, “With the nation’s first Workforce Pell application, Iowa will identify postsecondary programs with the best completion, employment, and earnings outcomes, ensuring students get a Read More ›

Keri D. Ingraham appeared on NTD Evening News on August 2 to discuss the rising monopoly of the American mind. Ingraham explained that school choice is needed to counteract the widespread promotion of socialism and communism in public schools. She went on to explain why capitalism and free markets are superior, given the examples throughout history of human flourishing under systems that allow for individual freedom rather than top-down control.

In an era when many education leaders are focused on maintaining the status quo, Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder has chosen a different path. Her bold leadership, meaningful reforms, and unwavering focus on students, families, and teachers have benefited students and educators alike. Instead of just talking about academic excellence and educational innovation, results have occurred. Perhaps Degenfelder’s most significant accomplishment has been her leadership in advancing education freedom for Wyoming families. She helped champion Wyoming’s Education Savings Account program, which provides families with funding for educational expenses, including private school tuition, tutoring, curriculum, and other customized learning opportunities. Wyoming’s program is notable for its broad eligibility and its support for pre-kindergarten students. She has also been instrumental Read More ›

This was originally published in The Believe! Journal on July 4th, 2025, with the title: Is America Doomed to Decline? We republish it here for the United States’ 250th birthday, since its message remains relevant and important on this historic anniversary. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration of Independence With the 250th anniversary of our nation upon us, many are reflecting on the past while also considering the future. What makes America unique? Where is the great American experiment headed? Are our best days behind us? Is America doomed Read More ›

Across 423 counties in 13 states, 26 million Americans live with a persistent opportunity gap. It’s not because of a lack of effort, talent, or community commitment, but because big government systems meant to serve them have failed to deliver. At the center of that failure is education. For too long, families in Appalachia have been asked to accept a one-size-fits-all public education system that assigns children to schools based on ZIP code rather than need, fit, or school quality. The results have been predictable. According to the Appalachian Regional Commission’s 2019-2023 American Community Survey, just 27.3 percent of adults in the region hold a bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 35 percent nationally. In Kentucky’s Appalachian counties, that number Read More ›