National Charter Schools Week, 2019

Proclamation 9882 of May 10, 2019

National Charter Schools Week, 2019

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During National Charter Schools Week, we recognize the
important contributions public charter schools make by
providing American families with the freedom to choose
high-quality education options that meet their
children's needs. For more than a quarter century,
charter schools--tuition-free public schools of
choice--have been incubators of educational
innovations, while being accountable for student
achievement and outcomes. Today, what began as a
grassroots movement now flourishes in 44 States, the
District of Columbia, Guam, and Puerto Rico, with more
than 7,000 schools serving approximately 3.2 million
students.

Charter schools empower families to pursue the right
educational fit for their children, helping ensure that
there are paths to the American Dream that match the
needs of students striving to achieve it. The unique
needs of students, rather than address or family
income, should determine where they learn. My
Administration is committed to reducing the outsized
Federal footprint in education and to empowering
families, as well as State and local policymakers and
educators, with the flexibility to adapt to student
needs.

Public charter schools work for students, teachers, and
communities. The Center for Research on Education
Outcomes found that charter schools better serve low-
income students, minority students, and students
learning English than neighboring public schools. The
success of our Nation's public charter schools in
helping students of all backgrounds thrive and in
addressing the needs of local education confirms what
Americans have always known: those who are closest to
students know best how to prepare them to reach their
full potential.

Nothing better proves the value of and need for charter
schools than the ever-growing demand from students and
families. Although charter school enrollment has
increased at least sevenfold in the past 18 years, more
than one million students remain on charter school
waiting lists today. A recent survey found that 59
percent of parents would prefer to send their child to
a different type of school than the one to which they
have been assigned.

Because of the success of and demand for public charter
schools, each year since taking office, I have proposed
to increase and improve funding for them as a key part
of my Administration's ambitious efforts to expand
every family's access to all types of high-quality
education opportunities. In my fiscal year 2020 budget
request, I called on the Congress to increase funding
for the Federal Charter Schools Program to $500
million, an increase of $60 million over the current
level.

No matter where they live or how much their parents
earn, all children deserve access to education that
enriches their minds. This week, we celebrate all the
students, families, teachers, administrators, and
community leaders who support public charter schools
and education freedom. We reaffirm our commitment to
expanding every family's access to high-quality

education opportunities and to supporting educational
excellence and innovation for the benefit of every
student and for the continued prosperity of our great
Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim May 12 through May
18, 2019, as National Charter Schools Week. I commend
our Nation's successful public charter schools,
teachers, and administrators, and I call on States and
communities to help students and empower parents and
families by supporting high-quality charter schools as
an important school choice option.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand
nineteen, and of the Independence of the United States
of America the two hundred and forty-third.