Trump’s State of the Union school choice scholarship will be paid by Betsy DeVos. One Philadelphia girl will benefit.
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will personally fund a school choice scholarship President Donald Trump offered to a Philadelphia girl during his State of the Union address Tuesday night, a surprise award he suggested would allow the girl to leave her low-performing public school and attend a different school.
A DeVos spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday the secretary would provide the money directly to Janiyah Davis, a fourth grade student, and her mother, Stephanie, who were invited to the speech Tuesday night in Washington.
During his address, Trump said Davis has been on a waiting list for Pennsylvania’s opportunity scholarship program. The state gives businesses a tax break for donations that help pay for qualifying children to attend a different school, including private schools.
“I can proudly announce tonight that an Opportunity Scholarship has become available, it’s going to you, and you will soon be heading to the school of your choice,” Trump said to the girl.
But the scholarship didn’t “become available” via normal channels.
DeVos will have to pay for the girl’s tuition directly in part because state law in Pennsylvania caps how much donors can contribute to the opportunity scholarship fund.
And when USA TODAY contacted Pennsylvania’s Department of Education Wednesday, officials weren’t even aware of what Trump had done during his address on Tuesday.
The school choice scholarship wait list in Pennsylvania is long. Between the two educational tax credit programs in that state, there are about 40,000 to 50,000 more applicants than available scholarships, said Michael Torres, spokesman for the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative think tank that supports school choice.
DeVos spokeswoman Liz Hill did not respond to follow-up questions about how long DeVos planned to fund the girl’s educational expenses. The secretary, whose husband is the former CEO of multi-level marketing company Amway, donates her entire federal salary each year to charity.
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Trump’s action Tuesday only added to the controversy around school choice, an over-arching term that applies to non-traditional schools that get public money, such as charter schools run by non-unionized teachers and private, religious schools that may receive taxpayer money in some states.
Education coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation does not provide editorial input.