Pundits (and clearly markets) agree: President Trump gave a superb speech last night.
But what was the biggest takeaway for Catholics?
President Trump called education the “the civil rights issue of our time.” And he called on Congress to make school choice possible — especially for low-income students.
Of course the sanctity of life, marriage, and religious liberty are foundational issues. Protecting innocent children in the womb will always be paramount. We had hoped President Trump would have mentioned this. But when it comes to transforming culture, a revolution in education could truly help change everything.
Many public schools are failing our kids, especially low-income children. Furthermore, left-wing ideologies on family, sex, race, and gender are now pervasive in many schools.
Families deserve a choice!
Our bishops have been very clear in calling for solutions to this problem:
Parents, not the government, are the primary educators of children.
For the first time in decades, the possibility of school choice is real. Opponents will viciously attack any effort to break the public school monopoly. But the evidence is clear: school choice benefits all children, sparks competition between schools, increases educational quality across the board, and creates room for innovation.
Later this week, the President will attend a “listening session” at St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, where hundreds of low-income students are able to attend through scholarships made possible by a state tax credit.
A similar federal tax credit option is now being discussed in Washington D.C. to benefit children in EVERY state in America. This option would enable qualified families to send their kids to the school of their choice — including religious schools.
Your CV Team is working with legislative leaders and key groups helping to push this agenda forward.
A person involved in the process yesterday remarked to me: Catholic schools may have a big problem very soon. There may not be enough open seats to welcome the flood of new students.
This isn’t a dream.
We’re fighting to make it happen.