Editing School voucher (section)

==== Trump's 2018 Budget ====
President [[Donald Trump]] proposed a 2018 budget that included $250&nbsp;million for voucher initiatives, state-funded programs that pay for students to go to private school.<ref name=":42">{{Cite magazine |title=Here's Why Researchers Say Betsy DeVos' Proposed School Voucher Program Won't Work |url=https://time.com/4832923/betsy-devos-trump-administration-school-choice-vouchers/ |magazine=Time |language=en |access-date=2018-04-22}}</ref> This 2018 budget served the purpose of "Expanding school choice, ensuring more children have an equal opportunity to receive a great education, maintaining strong support for the Nation's most vulnerable students, simplifying funding for post-secondary education, continuing to build evidence around educational innovation, and eliminating or reducing Department programs consistent with the limited Federal role in education."<ref name=":32">{{Cite web|url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/budget18/budget-factsheet.pdf|title=FACT SHEET: President Trump's FY 2018 Budget}}</ref> The Budget reduced more than 30 programs that duplicated other programs; that were deemed ineffective; or that were more appropriately supported with state, local, or private funds.<ref name=":32" /> Another $1 billion was set aside for encouraging schools to adopt school choice-friendly policies.<ref name=":42" />

[[File:Secretary_of_Education_Betsy_DeVos_at_CPAC_2017_Feb_23rd_2017_by_Michael_Vadon_21.jpg|thumb|Former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos]]
[[Betsy DeVos]], Trump's education secretary from 2017 to 2021, is also an advocate for voucher programs and has argued that they would lead to better educational outcomes for students.<ref name=":42" /> Both Trump and DeVos proposed cutting the Education Department's budget by about $3.6&nbsp;billion and spend more than $1&nbsp;billion on private school vouchers and other school choice plans.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Strauss |first1=Valerie |last2=Douglas-Gabriel |first2=Danielle |last3=Balingit |first3=Moriah |date=2018-02-13 |title=DeVos seeks cuts from Education Department to support school choice |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2018/02/12/devos-seeks-massive-cuts-from-education-department-to-support-school-choice/ |access-date=2018-04-22 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

Regarding the purpose and importance of the budget, DeVos claimed:

<blockquote>This budget makes an historic investment in America's students. President Trump is committed to ensuring the Department focuses on returning decision-making power back to the States, where it belongs, and on giving parents more control over their child's education. By refocusing the Department's funding priorities on supporting students, we can usher in a new era of creativity and ingenuity and lay a new foundation for American greatness. – Betsy DeVos, U.S. [[Secretary of Education]]<ref name=":32" /></blockquote>