President Trump asks lawmakers to extend school choice

The president dropped in unexpectedly on an event where Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Vice President Mike Pence were meeting a group of Washington, D.C., students enrolled in private schools through a federal voucher program.

“This is what winning for young children and kids from all over the country looks like,” the president explained.

“The opportunity scholarship program that we’re funding allows families in the inner city of our nation’s capital to leave failing public schools and attend a private school, making an extraordinary difference in these incredible young lives,” he said.

The president went on to ask all lawmakers to work with his administration to extend school choice to “millions more children all across the United States of America, including millions of low-income Hispanic and African American children who deserve the same chance as every other child in America to live out their dreams and fill up their hearts and be educated at the top, top level.”

As DeVos put it, “We shouldn’t restrict parents choices, based strictly on a family’s income or zip code.”