Education Freedom
Creating Opportunity for Every American Child
MISSION
The Education Freedom Campaign works to ensure rooted in our fundamental values. In this campaign, K-12 education policy experts promote school choice and produce sound research to help parents make informed decisions for their children. Our higher education experts work with our partners in government and in the marketplace to equip a new American workforce by eliminating bloat and incentivizing innovation and opportunity. We work with federal and state governments to ensure that these principles are implemented based on what is best for children, not bureaucrats. After all, parents are the first primary educators of their childing. They should be in the driver’s seat in educational decision making.
Focus Areas / Policy Pillars
- School Choice – Expanding parental rights and education freedom.
- Accountability through Transparency - Ensuring parents and policymakers have the information on curriculum, finances, safety, and academic outcomes that they need to make informed decisions.
- Limited Bureaucracy – Reining in bloated bureaucracy and compliance rules and focusing resources on academic achievement over ideological initiatives.
- Education Value – Reforming accreditation and return-on-investment standards, sharing risks and responsibilities, and supporting workforce development.
- Ending the Department of Education – Supporting legislation and rulemaking to devolve control and give block grants to states, as well as refocusing accreditation on quality control and outcomes and reforming student loans and debt.
- Free Expression – Promoting free speech and institutional viewpoint neutrality in higher education.
Team
Erika Donalds
Chair, Education Opportunity
Michael Shires
Vice Chair of Education Opportunity
Sarah Hitchcock
Education Freedom Campaign Director
Christopher Schorr, Ph.D.
Director of the Higher Education Reform Initiative
James Paul, PhD
Director of State Education Opportunity
Jovan Tripkovic
Policy Analyst, Higher Education Reform Initiative
Latest
Statement
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January 20, 2026
AFPI Statement on Governor Kemp’s Education Tax Credit Announcement
Washington, D.C.—Today, Rebecca Yardley, Executive Director of America First Georgia at the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), issued the following statement about Governor Brian Kemp announcing Georgia’s participation in the new federal tax credit scholarship program created by the One Big Beautiful Bill: “The America First Policy Institute applauds Governor Brian Kemp for opting Georgia into the historic federal education tax credit created by the One Big Beautiful Bill. This first-of-its-kind federal program empowers families, encourages private investment in education, and expands opportunity for students, especially those who need it most.
Statement
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January 15, 2026
Governors Should Opt In to the Federal Education Tax Credit Now—Parents’ Desires are Clear
Momentum is building quickly for the Federal Education Tax Credit, created under the Working Families Tax Cut Act, with governors in multiple states—including Virginia, Missouri, and Colorado—taking steps to opt in or publicly signaling their intent to participate, underscoring growing national support for expanding educational opportunity through private giving. With growing bipartisan participation, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) encourages governors nationwide to opt in and ensure families in their states can benefit.
Fact Sheet
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January 13, 2026
Creating a New Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education
State Model Policy
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January 8, 2026
Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education and Restoring Education to the States
This resolution, intended for adoption in state legislatures, expresses support for dissolving the federal Department of Education (ED) and restoring educational authority where it belongs: with states, local communities, and ultimately parents. It endorses Secretary McMahon’s ongoing efforts to dismantle this bloated, inefficient federal agency and shift its few necessary functions to other agencies, as appropriate.
Op-Ed
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January 8, 2026
Gender Indoctrination Wars: The Courts Strike Back
A few short years ago, as the Biden administration pushed to redefine Title IX on the (spurious) premise that the word “sex” meant “gender identity.” There was significant reason to fear that gender ideology indoctrination would become a permanent feature of American public education. However, as 2026 begins, the grip of gender ideology in schools is more tenuous than ever; not only because of the Trump administration’s actions, but also because the courts have caught up to the constitutional violations inherent in such indoctrination.
Topics
- Protecting Kids Online
- Rural Prosperity
- Criminal Justice & Public Safety
- The Courts
- Government Weaponization
- Merit-based Employment
- Debt
- Inflation
- Trade
- Work & Jobs
- Post Secondary Education
- K-12 Education Freedom
- Public School Transparency
- American Only Elections
- Clean Votes
- Secure Elections
- Energy
- Environment
- Budget, Spending, & Taxes
- Transgenderism
- Border & Immigration
- Defense
- Marriage, Family, & Children
- Faith & Religious Liberty
- Sanctity of Life
- Parental Rights
- Protect Women’s Sports
186
issues-new
Videos
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A New Era for College Sports: The Saving College Sports Proposal Outshines the SCORE and SAFE Acts
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How Mississippi Beat the Odds: Gov. Tate Reeves on Literacy Reform and the School Choice Revolution
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Secretary McMahon, AFPI, TPUSA, & Partners Launch New Civics Coalition
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AFPI Files Title IX Lawsuit to Protect Oregon Girls’ Rights
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