LDF Strongly Condemns the Trump Administration’s Proposed Rules for a Federal Voucher Program

The Legal Defense Fund (LDF) strongly condemns the U.S. Department of the Treasury's release of proposed regulations on the nation's first ever federal private school voucher program. The federal private school voucher program, which was created last year by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will not meet the needs of the majority of America's children, particularly Black children, other children of color, children with disabilities, and children from other underserved and under-resourced communities. The proposed rules provide guidelines for how states, scholarship granting organizations (SGOs), and individuals can participate in the program. The rules fail to include adequate safeguards or sufficient antidiscrimination protections for students and families, accountability measures, or transparency requirements.

"The Trump administration's proposed rules confirm what we expected, that their federal private school voucher program is designed to direct public resources to private schools and organizations and will provide little benefit to the 90% of children who attend public schools," said Demetria McCain, Director of Policy at LDF. "Instead of using federal resources to serve all children, this administration has dismantled the Department of Education, weakened long-standing civil rights protections, and worked to build a two-tiered system of education that benefits a select few. Our children deserve better."

Earlier this week, LDF along with 15 other civil rights organizations urged governors in all 50 states to reject the Trump administration's invitation to join the private school voucher scheme, warning that it would threaten public education, deepen racial segregation, and divert public resources toward private schools that are not required to serve all students.

Learn more about the federal voucher scheme and the discriminatory origins of "school choice."

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Founded in 1940, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) is the nation's first civil rights legal organization. LDF has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957, though it was founded under the leadership of Thurgood Marshall while he was at the NAACP. LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute (TMI) is a division of LDF that undertakes innovative research and houses LDF's archive. In all media attributions, please refer to us as the Legal Defense Fund or LDF (do not include NAACP) and refer to the Institute as LDF's Thurgood Marshall Institute or TMI.