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, Ph.D.
Vice Chair of Education Opportunity Policy, Higher Education Policy, and Senior Policy Officer
Sarah Hitchcock
Education Freedom Campaign Director and Project Manager, Athletes for America Coalition
Christopher Schorr, Ph.D.
Director, Higher Education Policy
James Paul, Ph.D.
Director of State Education Opportunity Policy
Jovan Tripkovic
Analyst, Higher Education Policy
Latest
Op-Ed
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July 20, 2026
10 Years Ago, I Traded Honesty for a Degree
It was the morning after President Trump’s surprise victory in the 2016 election. Just before 8:00 a.m., I walked into the Brewster Building at East Carolina University to make copies for an exam I would be proctoring later that day. I was in my second year of graduate studies in American history, and after the previous night’s dramatic election results, I was curious to see how the campus was taking the news.
Statement
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July 15, 2026
AFPI Commends New National K-12 Initiative to Protect Students from Adult Sexual Predators in Schools
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) has released the following statements from its experts in response to the U.S. Department of Education’s announcement that the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) will ensure that K-12 schools that are federally funded will protect their students from sexual exploitation.
Commentary
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July 15, 2026
DEI has Devastated America’s Colleges and Universities
Just a few days ago, we celebrated America’s 250th birthday, and the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. This proclamation launched America on a path to freedom, opportunity, and prosperity unrivaled in human history. The central premise of the Declaration of Independence is the notion that all men are created equal, and the pursuit of this ideal has fueled American success since the nation’s inception.
Statement
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July 14, 2026
AFPI Applauds Common-Sense Policies that Put Students Ahead of Bureaucracy
Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released the following statement from Michael Shires, Ph.D., vice chair of Education Opportunity at AFPI, regarding policies that would return education to the states:
Research Report
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July 1, 2026
“Academic Freedom” is no Excuse for Viewpoint Discrimination
Viewpoint discrimination against conservative faculty is pervasive and consequential. It undermines the mission of the university, violates the principle of equal treatment in public life, and contributes to illiberal campus climates marked by censorship, coercion, and civil rights violations.
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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Truth Be Told: Why America’s Best Days Are Ahead with Secretary Linda McMahon
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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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Supporting the Emerging Civil Rights State
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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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