As the House Education and Labor Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) continue their discussions around reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA), most of the public chatter in the space centers around hot-button issues, including college affordability and student debt. This means that other aspects of a potential deal on HEA reauthorization are flying under the radar.

When President Trump’s budget request for fiscal year 2020 was released, many advocates of school choice were thrilled to see the cuts recommended for the Department of Education, to the tune of $7.1 billion. For those who believe that the federal government has no place in determining education policy, a $64 billion budget for the Department of Education is certainly preferable to a $71 billion budget.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to cosponsor the Educational Freedom Accounts Act, H.R. 778. Introduced by Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Educational Freedom Accounts Act would expand school choice in the District of Columbia by creating education savings accounts that may be used for any student whose parent chooses not to enroll him or her in the public school system.

On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to cosponsor legislation to terminate the Department of Education, H.R. 899. Introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), this bill would do one simple thing -- hand matters of education back to those with whom they belong: state and local communities.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to support the Student Empowerment Act, S. 3102, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). This bill will further expand 529 education savings accounts to include K-12 elementary and secondary school expenses for public, private, and religious schools, including homeschool students.

“And at the U.S. Department of Education, Common Core is dead.” This is music to the ears of advocates for federalism, school choice, and, frankly, for student success everywhere. These words came directly from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos last week at a conference in DC titled “Bush-Obama School Reform: Lessons Learned,” held by the free-enterprise think tank American Enterprise Institute.

On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and representative and ask them to support the Educational Freedom Accounts Act, S.2163 and H.R.4576, introduced by Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.). The bill would expand school choice in the District of Columbia by creating education savings accounts that may be used for any student whose parent chooses not to enroll him or her in the public school system.