Huffman, Schakowsky, Raskin Lead Efforts to Support Public Education and Oppose Scheme to Divert Public Funds to Private, Religious Schools

Lawmakers urge immediate withdrawal of Trump’s private school voucher executive order

February 14, 2025

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Representatives and Congressional Freethought Caucus members Jared Huffman (CA-02), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08) led 42 colleagues in a letter to President Donald Trump requesting that he immediately withdraw his recent executive order which directs the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Bureau of Indian Education, and the Department of Defense to prioritize funding for private and charter schools, including faith-based institutions, via ‘voucher’ programs.

“The federal government should be investing in robust funding to support and strengthen our public schools rather than redirecting resources to unaccountable, privately run secular and religious schools,” wrote the lawmakers.

Public schools are required to educate all students regardless of income, race, health, sexual orientation, English language proficiency, disability, and academic ability. The majority of school-age children in the United States receive a public-school education, with approximately 49.6 million students enrolled in public pre-K-12 schools nationwide in 2022.

“School vouchers redirect critically needed funding and resources from neighborhood public schools to unaccountable and too-often for-profit schools – worsening and perpetuating existing systemic inequities in our pre-K-12 public education system,” continued the lawmakers. “This Order is the Administration’s first step to divert billions of dollars away from our public school system, which is also the only system that guarantees every student’s civil rights and religious freedom.

The Framers of the U.S. Constitution contemplated the possibility of taxpayer-funded religion and vehemently opposed it. They later enshrined this conviction in the Bill of Rights. 

“We are concerned that this scheme to take over the state apparatus and divert public funds to private religious schools violates the religious freedom of every taxpayer, who will be compelled to fund schools of any faith,” added the lawmakers. “Religious education is best left to houses of worship and private institutions that are funded with voluntary contributions, free from federal funding and state entanglement. Such an approach preserves funding for public education and ensures that religious institutions can educate students free from excessive government entanglement with religion.

“As Members of Congress, we remain committed to equipping every student, teacher, parent, and community with the resources they need to succeed,” concluded the lawmakers. “We believe that this Order and any similar efforts to expand school voucher programs run counter to the federal government’s responsibility to serve American students and violate the principle that public schools are a public good that must provide equal access to educational opportunities for all students, regardless of their background.”

Representatives Schakowsky, Huffman, and Raskin were joined by U.S. Representatives Alma Adams (NC-12), Becca Balint (VT-AL), Don Beyer (VA-08), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), André Carson (IN-07), Sean Casten (IL-06), Kathy Castor (FL-14), Judy Chu (CA-28), Yvette Clarke (NY-09), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Danny Davis (IL-07), Diana DeGette (CO-01), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Bill Foster (IL-11), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Laura Friedman (CA-30), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Summer Lee (PA-12), Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Robert Menendez (NJ-08), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Jerry Nadler (NY-12), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Mark Pocan (WI-02), Mike Quigley (IL-05), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Eric Swalwell (CA-14), Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Dina Titus (NV-01), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Jill Tokuda (HI-02), and Nydia Velázquez (NY-07). 

Full Text of Letter (PDF) can be found here.

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