The proposed appointment of Betsy DeVos as education secretary has been rightly celebrated by advocates for school choice around the country. As head of the American Federation for Children, DeVos has been instrumental in the movement to give parents better educational opportunities for their children for decades. So how will the new administration set about expanding access to choice? One idea that has been floated by President-elect Trump is a $20 billion block grant to states to fund educational-choice programs.
Such an infusion of federal funding could be exciting for the choice movement. States that have previously been unable to implement school-choice programs may be able to do so, and states with existing programs may find expansion easier. But a very important caveat comes with increased federal funding: It is likely to make the states beholden to the federal government in a sector that has traditionally been relatively free from federal involvement. While education-reform advocates may feel safe under Secretary DeVos and a president who seems to be amenable to school choice, there will inevitably come a time in the future when a less friendly administration takes the reins of power or, even worse, a time in the more immediate future when the current administration decides it's not too crazy about this whole delegated-powers principle. When that happens, the strings may come.
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