Trump proposal cuts $10.6 billion from federal education initiatives, expands school choice

Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Budget documents obtained by The Washington Post show that the Trump administration plans to cut $10.6 billion from federal education initiatives while spending $400 million to expand charter schools and vouchers for private and religious schools, plus move $1 billion in Title I funds meant for poor children to a new grant program for school districts that would let students decide which public school they want to attend.

The administration seeks to get rid of programs that provide afterschool activities for 1.6 million children, most of them poor, and offer child care for low-income parents attending college. Funding would vanish for public service loan forgiveness and student support and academic enrichment programs that help schools pay for everything from anti-bullying initiatives to Advanced Placement courses. The proposal would also halve funding for a work-study program that lets students work as they attend school and eliminate more than $700 million in Perkins loans for disadvantaged students.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.