OPINION:
It’s been eight years since President Trump’s first State of the Union address, a moment that marked a personal milestone and underscored a federal shift toward embracing school choice for every American student.
In 2017, during his speech, the President recognized my story as a testament to the transformative power of school choice. Honored for my personal and academic achievements, my journey from struggling student to educational advocate underscored the need for school choice nationwide, and this need is even more urgent today.
I went to my local public schools in Florida from K-5th and twice failed third grade. I hated school. I thought I was a failure. However, I began living with my godmother the summer before my sixth-grade year. I went from making Ds and Fs, believing I would become a teen parent and a high school dropout, like many before me, to earning As and Bs, becoming the first in my family to graduate from high school, and graduating from college and graduate school. I went on to work at the Department of Education under Secretary Betsy DeVos.
My turnaround was not born from the extra funds my zoned government school received. My success and the successes of my siblings today did not stem from a government school. Rather, it resulted from a tax-credit scholarship to attend a private school. I wasn’t a failure. The public school failed me. That’s the story of too many students like me across the country, including in states where hostile state legislatures block school choice.
Since I attended the State of the Union as a special guest in 2017, school choice has continued to advance. Laws across over 30 states have furthered school choice. My home state of Florida has awarded over half a million scholarships under the universal school choice law. Still, too many students still lack options. That’s why I’m so excited to see momentum for the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), which would bring school choice to every state and which the President supports.
This movement has been buoyed by data showing improved educational outcomes for students who access these programs, including higher graduation rates, better college enrollment numbers, and better life outcomes. My life reflects these statistics.
I have grown alongside the movement. At the American Federation for Children, I have founded programs like Black Minds Matter that help elevate the voices of the school choice movement. My goal is to ensure that all children, regardless of their socioeconomic status, have access to quality educational options of their parent’s choice.
Becoming a wife and mother of two has deepened my understanding of the stakes involved in educational choice. Becoming a parent has reinforced my commitment to the cause and has kept me grounded in the practicalities of parenting while advocating for systemic reform.
President Trump’s assertive stance on educational freedom continues. His vocal support marks a pivotal shift away from the long-standing influence of the teachers’ unions in American politics. For decades, the backing of these unions and their substantial political funding steered candidates away from school choice. Now, voters are decisively shifting the paradigm. According to a poll by my organization, 71% of American voters support school choice, and so do more state legislatures than ever.
School choice can improve all students’ lives by fostering competition and innovation.
This is a pivotal moment under President Trump’s second presidency. The ECCA represents a critical opportunity to cement the gains of the school choice movement nationally. It would create a federal tax credit scholarship similar to the one I accessed in Florida so that students in every state can pursue schooling options that meet their needs, echoing my life-changing experience with school choice. This legislation has garnered unprecedented support, reflecting a broad consensus on the importance of educational choice.
It is crucial for Congress to act swiftly to include the ECCA in upcoming legislative packages. Our nation’s future depends on our ability to provide all children with access to quality education regardless of their background. I urge lawmakers and the public to support this vital legislation, ensuring that every child can succeed and thrive in the educational environment that is right for them.
• Denisha Allen is a school choice beneficiary, a Senior Fellow with the American Federation for Children, and founder of Black Minds Matter. Denisha worked in the Department of Education during President Trump’s first term.
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