Our nation's future depends on the job we do raising and educating our children. As a former public-school teacher, I have seen firsthand how our current federal public education policies are failing to adequately prepare our children for life outside the classroom. The answer to fixing American schools should not come from the federal government, but rather local communities, school boards, and state departments of education. You cannot approach education with a one-size fits all philosophy. This is why federal efforts such as No Child Left Behind and Common Core have done little to turn our public schools around. The federal government can and should provide funding for educating, but the decisions on how to utilize that funding should be left to the local and state governments. It is these state and local governments that have a better understanding of the educational needs of their students.

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Furthermore, new federal initiatives like Critical Race Theory and the New York Times sponsored 1619 Project, should not be forced upon state and local governments. The federal government should not be in the business of indoctrinating our children with an ideological based curriculum. To tie federal funding to these types of curriculums is wrong. The job of a teacher is to provide students with a wide range of diverse information and opinions so that they can develop their own educated beliefs and attitudes. Classrooms should promote and encourage individual thought and debate rather than stifle it.  

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Finally, the most efficient path to curbing the influence of teachers' unions and restoring America's schools to prominence is through School Choice. No child should be forced to attend a failing school simply because of where they live. Unfettered access to quality education will provide millions of children with the opportunity to escape poverty. School choice will benefit students who need our help the most. School Choice does not "steal" money from local school districts. That money was always child specific. They are your tax dollars and should follow your child to the school that will best fit their needs.