One of President Trump’s key campaign promises was championing school choice. He highlighted this in his third State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
One of the president’s guests was Philadelphia, 4th-grade student Janiyah Davis and her mom Stephanie; Janiyah has been continually assigned to poor-performing schools and has been on the waiting list for a tax-credit scholarship.
Both @realDonaldTrump and I will continue to fight for parents like Stephanie and students like Janiyah. They are why I get up and go to work every single day. We cannot rest until every child in America has #EducationFreedom. #SOTU pic.twitter.com/fDoe5GaF7J
— Secretary Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) February 5, 2020
Janiyah Davis is a 4th grade student who loves art and math, but for too long she has been assigned to low-performing schools.
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) February 4, 2020
Pennsylvania’s governor recently vetoed school choice legislation, and Janiyah remains one of 50,000 students on a waitlist for tax credit scholarships. pic.twitter.com/rBM2XdXQOF
President Trump took a swipe at Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, who vetoed legislation that would have expanded the Educational Improvement Tax Credit. This tax credit was created for students like Janiyah, so that all students have access to quality education, regardless of their zip code.
I’m glad Stephanie and Janiyah Davis from Philadelphia were in the chamber tonight to put a face to the problems facing Pennsylvania families who want to escape failing schools.
— Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) February 5, 2020
President Trump announced that Janiyah would receive a scholarship to the school of her choice, and pressed Congress to pass the Education Freedom Scholarships and Opportunities Act, which would expand school choice and decrease the number of students dependent upon failing government schools.
Pres: No parent should be forced to send their child to a failing government school. #SOTU
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) February 5, 2020