Trump administrator sends advice on granting federal advantages to private schoolchildren

First on Fox – the Trump administration deploys what will be the fourth legal path to strengthen the choice of school at the national level, because the American Department of Education aims to put powers in the United States – before ultimately.

On Thursday, the department published what is called a “dear colleague letter to state and local agencies”, providing additional advice to help school and local districts to better serve students who frequent private schools but who are still eligible for academic support funded by the federal government. The letters aim to explain “more effective and effective means of best meeting the needs of students”.

Under the law on elementary and secondary education (ESEA), eligible students from private schools are entitled to fair services funded by title IA, which may include individual tutoring, summer programs or consulting programs.

Since its adoption in 1965, students and teachers of private schools have been able to participate in federal education programs sponsored by law. The ministry said that legislators have determined that ESEA programs benefit children – as opposed to schools – and if a child is eligible, it can receive program services. Although IA title funds do not go to private schools, their students and their teachers can always receive services provided or facilitated through the local educational agency (LEA).

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Educational secretary Linda McMahon in front of the White House on July 15, 2025. (Al Drago / Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The department notes that families of private schools are federal taxpayers and their students, therefore, are eligible beneficiaries of services similar to their peers from the public school using federal funding. The letters also point out that students from private schools generate a proportion of the federal funding of the IA title that local education agencies receive. The Ministry of Education said that these agencies are encouraged to work with private school officials to identify the means to best support eligible students.

“It was a year of banner for the choice of school – tax credit for the president of President Trump to the Councils of the Department to the States on how to extend the choice under the existing law, the Trump administration uses all the tools available to extend school options for students and parents,” said the assistant press secretary of the Ministry of Education, Ellen Keast, in a statement to Fox News Digital. “President Trump and secretary McMahon are trying to make sure that each child has access to an excellent education that best suits their unique learning needs.”

“Federal taxpayers’ dollars should support the best education results for students, no matter where they frequent school,” said Hayley Sanon, acting assistant secretary of the primary and secondary education office in a statement. “The Trump administration undertakes to extend the choice of education and guarantee that parents can choose an education option that best suits their child.”

“Improving the way fair services are provided means that private school students can have access to services and supports that best meet their unique learning needs,” added Sanon.

Thursday’s letters are considered to be the fourth orientation point that the Ministry of Education issued in the expansion of education options under ESEA.

President Donald Trump campaigned on the dismantling of the Department of Education. (Images Andrew Harnik / Getty)

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At the end of March, the Ministry of Education issued advice encouraging states to use the federal funds of title I to extend school choice options for families. This letter highlighted the means of local states and districts can reserve funds for direct students such as advanced courses, tutoring, double registration and vocational training, which gives parents more to say in the education of their children.

Department officials said that this decision was part of a broader effort from the Trump administration to increase flexibility and support for families seeking personalized learning opportunities.

Sanon sent another letter in May to exhorting states to strengthen how they identify and react to dangerous schools, highlighting the provisions in federal law which demand that students in dangerous persistent schools – or those who are victims of violent crimes at school – are offered safer alternatives. The ministry noted that very few schools are officially designated as dangerous despite generalized relationships of violent incidents, and Sanon has urged states to adopt stronger definitions, improve data collection and extend the school choice options, including transfers and charter schools. The guidelines were billed in the broader effort of the Trump administration to ensure that parents can choose safe learning environments for their children.

The Ministry of Education gave powers to state and local school districts. (istock)

In June, the Ministry of Education also encouraged states and districts to extend school options for school families identified as ineffective under the federal law. The directives describe how local education agencies can use the federal funds of title I to support improvement plans which include options selected by parents such as tutoring, double registration or vocational training – and even allow transfers of schools in chronic difficulty. Again, the Trump administration has invoiced the initiative as part of a broader effort to give parents a more significant contribution in the education of their children and ensure access to better quality learning opportunities.

The United States Supreme Court paved the way for the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to dismiss hundreds of employees last month, a decision that advances President Donald Trump’s plans to dismantle the department. While Trump campaigned on the closure of the department and the outsourcing of some of his responsibilities towards other agencies, McMahon said that his “final mission” was to put educational powers to the States.

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Trump celebrated last month’s decision on social networks, writing: “The federal government has led our education system in the soil, but we will turn everything by rendering power to the people.”