Military families exemplify the best of America—sacrifice, service, and dedication to our nation’s security. Yet, too often, their children are shortchanged by an education system that fails to meet their needs.
As President Donald Trump begins his second term, we have an unprecedented opportunity to fix that. It’s time to empower military families with true education freedom through education savings accounts.
For decades, Washington has treated military families as an afterthought when it comes to education policy. These families endure frequent moves and face schools that vary widely in quality. Worse, many Department of Defense schools have embraced radical ideologies such as critical race theory and gender ideology—poisoning classrooms instead of preparing students for success. This cannot continue.
Under Trump’s leadership, we can make good on our moral obligation to military families by ensuring their children have access to a world-class education—no matter where they’re stationed.
Education savings accounts represent the gold standard of education choice. By giving parents control over a portion of their child’s education funding, ESAs enable them to tailor an education that meets their child’s unique needs—whether that’s private school tuition, textbooks, tutors, or specialized therapies.
This isn’t theory—it’s proven. States such as Arizona and Florida have demonstrated the transformative power of ESAs. Families using them report higher satisfaction, better academic outcomes, and a renewed hope for their children’s futures. It’s time to extend this proven solution to military families and other underserved communities under federal oversight.
Consider the children of our active-duty service members. These kids face unique challenges: frequent moves, disrupted learning, and assigned public schools that often fail to meet basic academic standards. Worse, they’re indoctrinating students with radical political agendas that reject biological truth and sow racial division.
No service member who risks life and limb for our country should have to worry about whether their child will receive a decent education. Yet for many, this is a harsh reality.
When an active-duty service member is assigned to a new duty station, his children face an assignment of their own, typically forced to attend the public school closest to their parent’s post. It’s such a problem that a Military Times survey found that one-third of service members had considered leaving the military because of the poor quality of schools near their next assignment.
This is a crisis—not just for military families, but for national security. The military is already grappling with serious recruitment and retention challenges. The last thing we need is for educational failures to push more service members out the door.
Trump has long been a trailblazer for school choice, and now he has the chance to make history. Now, he can deliver for military families and transform the systems under federal jurisdiction. By implementing ESAs, his administration can transform the schools serving military families, children in the District of Columbia, and students on tribal lands into models of excellence and innovation.
This effort must go beyond ESAs. Federal education programs such as Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are long overdue for reform. These programs should be restructured so that families—not bureaucrats—control the resources. Oversight should move to agencies that understand families’ needs, ensuring every dollar goes directly toward helping children succeed.
Military families sacrifice so much for our freedom. The least we can do is honor their service by giving their children the education they deserve.
Education freedom isn’t just a policy goal—it’s a moral imperative. Trump’s bold leadership gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make it a reality. Let’s seize this moment to empower parents, protect our children, and ensure that every family, especially our military families, can thrive.
Originally published by The Washington Times
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