Secretary McMahon Joins President Trump to Deliver Back-to-School Remarks at the White House

Thank you, Mr. President.

Parents, educators, and students - happy back to school season! This school year marks a return to common sense in American education. And it is all thanks to the leadership of President Trump.

I remember when President Trump called me shortly after Biden's 2024 Nation's Report Card scores were released - and he was angry.

We spoke about what a travesty it is that Americans have invested $3 trillion in a federal Department of Education meant to improve student outcomes, and only 30% of our students can read or do math proficiently.

This is why President Trump demanded a hard reset to our education system - and under his leadership, we are delivering it.

This school year, American parents and students have so much to be excited about, because the Trump Administration is steering education back to its rightful focus: serving students.

Our Administration has cut billions in funding for radical DEI programs and redirected those dollars to teachers, classrooms, and results - supporting evidence-based literacy instruction, pouring record funding into charter schools, and energizing workforce training.

Key decisions that once sat with bureaucrats here in Washington, DC are moving to where they belong - in the hands of educators, parents, and local leaders who know each child best.

Six states now hold the first-ever Returning Education to the States Waivers, freeing over $100 million from federal micromanagement. These waivers allow state leaders to direct federal dollars toward what makes the most sense for their students.

Additionally, a record 25 states are exercising Ed-Flex authority - which allows them to immediately free thousands of local school districts from mountains of red tape without first having to receive approval from the Department of Education.

And under President Trump's leadership, we are restoring parents' sacred role as the first decision-makers in their children's lives.

Through the Education Freedom Tax Credit, President Trump has delivered the largest national expansion of education freedom in history for over 50 million eligible children-giving parents unprecedented freedom to choose the path that's best for their child.

It's no surprise that over half of our nation's states - both red and blue - have raced to this historic school choice option, benefitting families whether their child attends public or private school.

Parents can also rest assured that, wherever their child goes to school, this Administration is vigorously protecting their right to know what's happening inside those walls.

After the Biden Administration allowed schools to secretly "transition" students without parents' knowledge, President Trump is defending parental rights like never before.

At his direction, we are working hand-in-hand with the Department of Justice to ensure no school district ever has more power over a child than their own parents. We've exposed states like California for some of the most widespread offenses and put schools on notice: if they subject children to radical experiments and sideline parents, they will lose their federal funding.

Never before have parental rights been enforced at this scale - and parents are back in the driver's seat, where they belong.

Across every facet of education, these reforms are truly driving the progress that many promised but only President Trump could deliver.

We are breaking the grip of the education monopoly in D.C. and putting the future of our children back into the hands of those who know them, love them, and are best positioned to help them reach their God-given potential.

We will remember this as the turning point in our country where, thanks to President Trump's leadership, American education began to reclaim its place as the best in the world.