Guest post by Gregory Lyakhov
In recent years, several liberal state governments have pursued educational policies that have disrupted traditional K-12 education outcomes. New York stands as a key example, where elected officials have advanced policies that restrict school choice and redirect education funding into ideological initiatives. These changes come at a significant cost to academic performance, educational equity, and opportunities for students in underserved communities.
New York City Democratic Mayoral nominee, Zohran Mamdani, argues that charter networks divert resources from traditional public schools and primarily benefit more affluent families. He claims that vouchers are often used by students who were already enrolled in private schools and that these programs lack sufficient accountability. Mamdani proposes an alternative: a fully funded public school system. Yet such a system already exists in New York, which spends over $36,000 per student annually, and despite this massive investment, it continues to produce poor academic outcomes.
Data from the Success Academy network, New York City’s largest and most scrutinized charter school system, provides a sharp rebuttal to Mamdani’s claims. The school network enrolls a student body that is 98% minority and overwhelmingly from low-income households. In 2023, 96% of Success Academy students passed the state math exam, while 83% passed the English Language Arts exam. These figures stand in stark contrast to the citywide proficiency rate, which lingers around 49%.
This disparity highlights a simple truth: charter schools are not undermining public education—they are outperforming it. Restricting their growth only serves to limit access to high-quality education for the students who need it most.
Rather than focus on academic achievement, Mamdani has prioritized political messaging in their budget proposals. The 2025 “People’s Budget” includes $8 million for teacher diversity initiatives and over $250,000 for racial and cultural inclusivity programs and conventions. While the goal of a diverse teaching workforce is laudable, the city already employs a staff that is approximately 42% Black—almost double the proportion of Black residents in the city.
These diversity-driven expenditures come at a time when chronic absenteeism in the New York City public school system nears 40%, and statewide K–12 outcomes remain below national averages.
School choice programs, particularly those that provide scholarships for private education or support for charter schools, have shown measurable success in states such as Florida and North Carolina. Florida’s Tax Credit Scholarship Program, established in 2001, awards scholarships to more than 120,000 students annually. These scholarships are funded entirely by private donations incentivized through state tax credits. The 2024–25 cap for these tax credits is more than $1 billion.
Notably, eligibility restrictions for the program were recently lifted, though priority is still given to students from low-income households or foster care. The program is expanding to include 100,000 personalized education plans for students who remain in public schools but require specialized resources.
Recently, the Trump Administration has signed the “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” which includes the most ambitious national school choice initiative to date. The bill provides a $5 billion federal tax credit program designed to support Scholarship Granting Organizations. These organizations would distribute privately funded scholarships to low- and middle-income families, allowing them to pursue charter, private, or specialized education options. Because the funding is derived from private donations, the program does not diminish public education budgets and does not impose federal mandates on school districts.
The proposal also includes reforms to 529 education savings accounts, previously capped at $10,000 annually for K–12 tuition. The new plan would allow families to use 529 funds for tutoring, online learning, test preparation, and even homeschool materials.
Vocational and technical education is another key focus of the proposal. Under the expanded 529 rules, families could fund training in high-demand fields like HVAC repair, nursing assistance, and cybersecurity. These programs cost between $1,800 and $10,000—far less than traditional four-year degrees—and lead directly to workforce participation. The bill recognizes that modern education must align with labor market realities, not outdated academic models.
In addition to advancing the Big, Beautiful Bill, the Trump administration achieved a major legal victory this week: the Supreme Court has cleared the way for the Department of Education to be dismantled. Under the Biden administration, the Department spent billions of dollars promoting controversial programs such as Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Critical Race Theory (CRT). These initiatives would likely continue under any future Democratic administration, posing a continued threat to academic standards and parental rights. Closing the Department of Education would allow federal funds to be redirected away from bloated bureaucracy and toward school choice programs that empower families and prioritize student success.
Liberal states are failing their students by clinging to ineffective models and prioritizing ideology over outcomes. The Trump Administration offers an alternative that is data-driven, family-centered, and financially sustainable. It provides the tools families need to pursue meaningful educational success, especially those who have long been left behind by the traditional system. If America is serious about improving education, then the answer lies not in more bureaucracy, but in more choice.
The post Liberal States Are Undermining K-12 Education: The Trump Administration Is Fighting Back appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
