in effect
This is a presidential proclamation — a formal symbolic declaration — designating January 25–31, 2026, as National School Choice Week. It does not create law or regulations on its own, but uses the occasion to summarize education policy actions the administration has already taken or is pursuing.
The proclamation itself changes nothing directly, but it references several concrete prior actions. The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” signed into law in July 2025, created a federal tax credit program allowing taxpayers to reduce their tax liability by contributing to scholarship-granting organizations, which families can then use to pay for the school of their choice. That same law established “Trump Accounts” — savings accounts for newborns — and expanded 529 education savings accounts to cover K–12 expenses, not just college. A previously signed Executive Order directed the Department of Education to guide states on using federal funds for K–12 scholarship programs and to prioritize school choice in grant decisions. Separately, the administration has ordered the Secretary of Education to work toward closing the Department of Education, which would return education funding and policy authority to individual states.
Families with school-age children are the primary audience, as the referenced policies expand options for using public and tax-advantaged funds to attend private, charter, or other non-assigned schools. Scholarship-granting organizations gain a new federal tax incentive structure that could increase donations and the scholarships they distribute. Public schools and the Department of Education are affected by the withdrawal of certain federal funding tied to DEI programs and by the stated goal of eventually eliminating the department itself.