Fund Students, Not Failing Schools — Federal Scholarships for the School Parents Choose

The federal government sends billions of dollars every year to public schools that cannot teach children to read, that push DEI and woke ideology instead of academics, and that promote anti-American, anti-America First agendas in the classroom. Those schools have had decades and trillions of dollars to prove they can educate our children. They have failed. It is time to stop rewarding failure. Instead of pouring more taxpayer money into institutions that indoctrinate rather than educate, Chris Gleason will fight to redirect that money directly to parents — in the form of a federal scholarship that lets every family send their child to the private, charter, religious, or homeschool program of their own choosing.

That includes faith-based schools — schools where children can pray, where Biblical values are taught alongside reading and math, where the culture reinforces what families believe rather than undermining it. For too long, the federal government has treated religious education as second-class while forcing children into public schools that ban prayer, promote values their parents reject, and punish students who express their faith. That ends with Chris Gleason. No child should be denied a federal scholarship because their parents chose a school that honors God. No family should be forced to subsidize a school system that teaches their children to be ashamed of their country, their faith, or their family's values.

Chris Gleason will fight to create a new Federal Education Scholarship that provides direct tuition support to any family that chooses to leave an underperforming or ideologically captured public school. He will push to redirect Title I and IDEA funding away from schools that fail academic benchmarks, that maintain DEI bureaucracies, or that incorporate anti-American curriculum — and put that money into portable, parent-controlled Education Savings Accounts. He will author legislation explicitly prohibiting any federal agency from denying scholarship eligibility based on a school's religious affiliation, faith-based curriculum, or policies on prayer and worship. The principle is non-negotiable: parents choose the school, taxpayers fund the child, and failing schools that push political agendas instead of academics do not get to keep cashing checks on the public dime.

The federal lever: The federal government distributes over $40 billion annually in K-12 education funding through Title I, IDEA, and other programs. The Supreme Court ruled in Carson v. Makin (2022) that states cannot exclude religious schools from tuition assistance programs available to secular private schools — establishing the constitutional foundation for faith-based school eligibility in any federal scholarship program. A U.S. Senator can introduce legislation to convert federal education funding into direct parent-controlled scholarships, condition remaining institutional funding on academic performance, and explicitly prohibit discrimination against religious schools in federal education programs.

Promote Vocational Training as an Alternative to College

For decades, the American education system has treated a four-year college degree as the only path to success, stigmatizing the skilled trades and vocational careers that built this country. The result is $1.7 trillion in student loan debt, millions of graduates working in jobs that do not require their degree, and a catastrophic shortage of electricians, plumbers, welders, machinists, and healthcare technicians that the economy desperately needs. Florida has started to get this right, ranking number one in the nation for skilled workforce development three consecutive years. But there is much more to do.

Chris Gleason will fight for federal legislation that equalizes funding between vocational and academic pathways, eliminates the stigma against Career and Technical Education in federal reporting requirements, and expands apprenticeship programs through tax incentives for employers who partner with high schools and community colleges. He will push to reform federal student loan policy to stop subsidizing degrees with no labor market value while starving the trades programs that produce immediate, high-paying employment.

The federal lever: The Perkins Career and Technical Education Act distributes over $1.4 billion annually to states for CTE programs. Federal policy determines how these funds are allocated, what programs qualify, and what metrics are used to measure success. Reforming Perkins to prioritize programs with demonstrated labor market outcomes is a direct federal action.

Break the Power of Corrupt Teachers Unions

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers are not education organizations. They are political machines that funnel billions of dollars to Democratic candidates and left-wing causes while claiming to speak for teachers. In the 2024 election cycle, the NEA raised $27 million — virtually all of it spent electing Democrats — while 99% of its direct contributions went to one party. The AFT spent $46.9 million on political activities in a single fiscal year. Meanwhile, union leaders lobbied the CDC to keep schools closed during COVID, writing the actual language of the reopening guidance that locked millions of children out of classrooms. The result: an estimated $31 trillion in lifetime earnings lost for pandemic-era students, a 51% spike in suicide attempts among teenage girls, and the worst learning loss in a generation. Union bosses got paid. Children paid the price.

The corruption is not just political — it is financial. In January 2025, the president and executive vice president of Jacksonville's own Duval Teachers United were indicted for stealing $2.6 million in union funds through a leave scam. The AFT's Washington, D.C. chapter saw its president sentenced to nine years for embezzling $4.6 million. The Chicago Teachers Union president publicly fought school choice while secretly sending her own child to private school — on a salary just under $300,000 a year. These union bosses do not represent teachers. They exploit them.

Chris Gleason will fight to pass a federal Teacher Freedom Act that protects educators' right to opt out of union membership and political contributions without retaliation. He will push for legislation requiring full transparency of union political spending to every dues-paying member. He will support stripping federal funding from any school district that gives union officials veto power over school reopening, curriculum decisions, or the hiring and firing of teachers. And he will champion the rights of the good teachers — the overwhelming majority — who entered the profession to educate children, not to bankroll a political party.

The federal lever: Federal labor law governs union certification, dues collection, and financial reporting requirements. The National Labor Relations Act and its amendments are within direct Congressional authority. A U.S. Senator can co-sponsor and advance legislation reforming public-sector union transparency, protecting worker opt-out rights, and conditioning federal education funding on union accountability standards.