Washington — President Donald Trump used his first speech to a joint session of Congress… to frame education as “the civil rights issue of our time”—a line used by other leaders in both parties, including former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
And he called on Congress to go big on his favorite K-12 policy, school choice, without laying out specifics. He asked lawmakers to “pass an education bill that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African-American and Latino children. These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious, or home school that is right for them.”
The push for school choice is no surprise—it’s the education issue Trump talked about most often on the campaign trail. And Trump picked an education secretary, Betsy DeVos, who spent decades advocating for expanding vouchers and charter schools.
To underscore the power of choice, Trump pointed to Denisha Merriweather, one of a handful of honored guests, sitting with Melania Trump, the first lady…
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