Democrats Losing Control Of Public Education?

The Daily Caller says, "Democrats are losing the battle for control over the U.S. education system after decades of mismanagement. But they don’t intend to go down without a fight."

Arne Duncan, who served as secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) under former President Barack Obama, wrote an op-ed for The Washington Post published Monday, urging Democrats to use the funding in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to pay for their plan to recapture our education system.

Be informed, not misled.

Duncan doesn’t pull any punches about the failure of America’s education system. Using national scorecards as a reference, he argues that the U.S. is in an education depression that cannot be blamed solely on post-pandemic declines. To his credit, he is right. However, he stops short of assigning blame to Democrats, who are responsible for managing the widening education gaps.

“Over the past decade, Democrats have watched our party’s historical advantage on education vanish. The uncomfortable truth is that most of the states showing the strongest student gains are Republican-led,” Duncan said.

At the heart of his argument, he doesn’t want to end indoctrinating children into left-wing ideologies despite how terrible this has been for student learning. Instead, he argues that the left should endorse the federal tax credit scholarship program, which was funded by President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, to expand educational options for Democrats..

Parents are awakening and saying, “We want schools to be places of education, not indoctrination.”

The program, modeled on existing state-level initiatives in Republican-led states, allows taxpayers to receive a dollar-for-dollar tax credit for donations to scholarship-granting organizations (SGOs). These SGOs then provide scholarships to families for private education, homeschooling supplies, or other non-public education options. Since this is operating as a nationwide program, it allows new SGOs to be established without legislative approval in Democratic-controlled states.

Duncan urges Democratic governors and lawmakers not to opt out of the program, which he sees as a chance to regain the “educational (and moral) high ground” by creating new SGOs that could establish or prioritize scholarships for schools (private or charter) that incorporate left-wing instructional elements.

Keri D. Ingraham, writing for The Federalist, said, "This year, as we reflect on the birth of our nation, Americans have a powerful new reason to celebrate freedom — the dawn of a new chapter marked by the rise of educational freedom."

Takeaway

Although the Democrats are attempting to keep or regain control of public education, it is becoming obvious that Trump is two steps ahead of them.

Furthermore, the Trump administration has directed that students attending a persistently unsafe school or a failing school be granted an alternative education option.

Ingraham writes, "Education freedom is no longer just an idea — it’s becoming a life-changing reality for millions of children across America, thanks to numerous historic legislative victories. These bold reforms are unlocking opportunity, empowering families, and transforming the future of entire communities. The positive effects will be nothing short of revolutionary."

Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant, Be Bold. Be Engaged. Be Prayerful.