[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 13 (Friday, January 22, 2021)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 6797-6798]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-01633]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 86 , No. 13 / Friday, January 22, 2021 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 6797]]


                Proclamation 10137 of January 17, 2021

                
National School Choice Week, 2021

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                As we mark National School Choice Week, my 
                Administration reaffirms its commitment to solving the 
                civil rights issue of our time: educational inequity. 
                We have made substantial progress on this front, but we 
                must continue our efforts to ensure that each and every 
                family in America has the freedom to choose an 
                education that best meets their needs and values.

                Our Nation currently spends more money per pupil than 
                almost every other industrialized country in the world, 
                yet nearly two-thirds of our youth are not proficient 
                readers, and students across all age groups continue to 
                struggle in math. These failures are largely the result 
                of a one-size-fits-all, industrial-style approach to 
                education. Currently, students are assigned to schools 
                based on where they live, so only those whose families 
                can afford to move to a better-performing school 
                district or can afford private school tuition have a 
                choice in the learning environment that best fits their 
                child's needs. That is fundamentally unfair and unjust. 
                All Americans, no matter their family income, deserve 
                the opportunity to choose the best educational option 
                for them.

                What is often forgotten is that the failures of this 
                rigid arrangement disproportionately affect racial 
                minorities and distressed communities, perpetuating a 
                cycle of poverty. We can no longer allow America's 
                classrooms to be an exception to our Nation's promise 
                of equal opportunity for all. Instead, we must provide 
                equal access to a quality education for every American 
                student, no matter where they reside. In the land of 
                the free, a child's zip code should never determine 
                their future.

                That is why, I recently issued an Executive Order on 
                Expanding Educational Opportunity through School Choice 
                that provides in-person options for low-income parents 
                forced to send their children to virtual school during 
                the pandemic. But we must continue this progress. 
                Therefore, I renew my call to the Congress to pass the 
                Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunity Act, so 
                we can finally take a giant step towards true liberty 
                for students. This landmark legislation would give more 
                than 1 million children the freedom to attend the 
                school that best fits their needs, and would create 
                more than $5 billion in annual tax credits for those 
                who donate to local scholarship funds, empowering more 
                families to choose the best educational setting for 
                their children.

                I also call on the Congress to pass the School Choice 
                Now Act, which will ensure every State can fund 
                elementary and high school scholarship programs, so 
                that students do not lose access to their school of 
                choice because of economic disruptions. As too many 
                school districts across the country refuse to open, 
                these scholarships are needed now more than ever so 
                that families unable to afford private tutors or who 
                work during the day can still provide an education for 
                their children.

                Education will always be one of the most important 
                factors in a child's future success. That is why I am 
                fighting to empower all families--of all races, 
                backgrounds, and incomes--with the freedom and the 
                resources they need to make the best decisions for 
                their children. In America, more freedom leads to more 
                opportunity--especially in the classroom. By embracing 
                my

[[Page 6798]]

                Administration's school choice policy, we will make 
                sure that every American student is able to fulfill 
                their God-given potential.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim January 24 to January 
                30, 2021, as National School Choice Week.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                seventeenth day of January, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand twenty-one, and of the Independence of the 
                United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                fifth.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2021-01633
Filed 1-21-21; 11:15 am]
Billing code 3295-F1-P