educators are bracing for a big boost to school-choice programs under president-elect donald trump, but he has been silent on some other major topics affecting the nation<u+2019>s public-school students. mr. trump has said that he would pump billions into <u+201c>school choice,<u+201d> including backing voucher programs, which are popular with many parents but often opposed by public-school districts. and as the nation<u+2019>s new education law is set to be fully implemented next school year, some educators are wondering if it will be derailed. <u+201c>his education platform has been so in the background, we really don<u+2019>t know where he stands,<u+201d> said john yun, associate professor in the college of education at michigan state university. mr. trump hasn<u+2019>t provided an overarching plan for education. but he has said that he would reprioritize federal dollars to provide an additional $20 billion for <u+201c>school choice<u+201d> to give families more educational options. school choice entails using public-school dollars for alternatives to traditional public schools, such as for charter schools, private schools and online campuses. <u+201c>as your president, i will be the nation<u+2019>s biggest cheerleader for school choice,<u+201d> mr. trump said in september when he announced his school-choice plan. <u+201c>i want every single inner-city child in america who is today trapped in a failing school to have the freedom<u+2014>the civil right<u+2014>to attend the school of their choice.<u+201d> under his plan, states would have the option to allow the funding to follow students to private or public schools, in what some educators call a voucher system. distribution of the funds would favor states that have private-school choice, magnet schools and charter laws. charter-school proponents are enthusiastic about the shift, but teacher<u+2019>s unions are skeptical. <u+201c>we<u+2019>re thrilled,<u+201d> said christine isett, a spokeswoman at the texas charter schools association. <u+201c>how he divvies the money amongst the different groups remains to be seen. we<u+2019>re anxiously waiting.<u+201d> randi weingarten, president of the american federation of teachers, called the plan a <u+201c>voucher scheme<u+201d> that could <u+201c>wreak real-world havoc<u+201d> and hurt students who have greater needs, such as those living in poverty or with disabilities. <u+201c>while public schools have the responsibility for educating all students, many voucher schools take public funding while picking and choosing students based on their academic and behavioral characteristics,<u+201d> ms. weingarten said. school choice has been a hot topic in education circles as public-school districts fight to keep students from leaving to attend charter schools, which are publicly funded but mostly privately run. some educators say charter schools take funding away from traditional schools. the obama administration has supported charter-school growth but not so much vouchers. the presidential candidates didn<u+2019>t say much during the campaign season on the nation<u+2019>s new education law, the every student succeeds act . the law is expected to give states more local control over academic standards. it is unclear where mr. trump stands on the law and his campaign couldn<u+2019>t be reached for comment. <u+201c>there<u+2019>s no reason why donald trump couldn<u+2019>t rethink the whole law right away,<u+201d> said julian vasquez heilig, director of the doctorate in educational leadership program at california state university, sacramento. mr. trump has called for decreasing the size and scope of the u.s. department of education, giving states more control. and he has opposed the common core national curriculum standards used in dozens of states. some other issues affecting education came after mr. trump<u+2019>s win<u+00a0>tuesday. some students had to be consoled by teachers over fears that family members would be deported under a trump administration. in several states, students walked out of school in protest of his election. at berkeley high school in the bay area, more than 1,000 students marched through the streets around midday<u+00a0>wednesday, chanting <u+2018>not my president,<u+201d> before returning to school. <u+2014>zusha elinson contributed to this article write to tawnell d. hobbs at tawnell.hobbs@wsj.com
educators brace for change as some trump policies still unclear  - wsj
tawnell d. hobbs