President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are rightfully concerned about America’s low fertility rate, which is barely hovering above the record low it hit in 2023. As they seek to spark a baby boom, Trump and Musk must solve one huge factor that makes raising children harder and having children less appealing: Our country’s public schools are a disaster.
Only 4% of public school eighth graders are advanced readers, and 34% are considered “below basic.” Forty-one percent are “below basic” in math. Fixing this would be an immeasurable service to current and future parents and their children.
Parents and nonparents alike are painfully aware of the education crisis. A whopping 73% of Americans said they are either somewhat or very dissatisfied with the quality of public education, according to Gallup. No parent wants to send their child to a place where they do not learn, but many have no choice.
Dodging failing schools comes at a price many parents can’t afford. Private school costs an average of $12,790 per child per year. Homeschooling often requires foregoing one parent’s earning potential and footing the bill for learning materials. Buying a home in a top-rated school district can cost nearly 80% more than a home in nearby counties, according to a study by Realtor.com.
Paying this premium simply isn’t feasible for most adults of childbearing age. Though the proposed $5,000 “baby bonus” would be a boon to parents in the first year of their child’s life, the ability to direct their child’s education from ages 5 to 18 would be worth much more.
Trump and Musk could make this promise to parents: From your child’s first day of kindergarten through high school graduation, they can attend a school of your choosing that delivers the knowledge they need to succeed.
Data suggest that making quality education accessible could prompt more people to have more children. Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Ohio State University found that “young Americans haven’t changed the number of children they intend to have in decades.” However, fewer people are achieving the family sizes they want. More than 1 in 5 parents of children under the age of 18 said they cannot afford to have another child, according to a Harris poll.
For people who do not want to have children, neither a check from Uncle Sam nor the promise of better schools will likely change their minds. However, for people who do want children, or want more than they have now, guaranteeing a solid education for those children could be a powerful incentive.
While the “baby bonus” would cost taxpayers money, school choice would not add a single new charge to the federal balance sheet. The Educational Choice for Children Act would accomplish this by creating a tax credit for taxpayers contributing to scholarship-granting organizations. Scholarship-granting organizations would then distribute every dollar according to the parents’ choosing, whether to a private school, a different public school, a tutor, a therapist for students with disabilities, or even to cover the cost of homeschooling resources.
School choice would prompt public schools to clean up their act by forcing them to compete for students. Districts would no longer be able to count on a steady stream of money while delivering a subpar product. (In case anyone is still under the delusion that public schools are underfunded, consider that Congress pumped $189.5 billion into the education system during the pandemic, and test scores still cratered.)
Public schools waste billions of dollars annually on administrative bloat: Between 1950 and 2009, the number of nonteaching public school administrators grew by more than 700%. (During that time, the student population didn’t even double.) Districts would also need to compete for great teachers, possibly leading to higher salaries for top performers instead of keeping them in a pay-band system that rewards tenure rather than achievement.
TRUMP CAN HELP MAKE BABIES GREAT AGAIN, BUT NOT LIKE THIS
Education freedom would make parenthood less intimidating for adults concerned about their financial futures and their children’s futures. Consumer confidence is now at its lowest level in more than a decade. Having children would be far less risky if parents knew their children would never be trapped in abysmal schools, no matter their financial outlook.
Unless we address major flaws in the education system, parenthood will only get harder for those already there and less appealing for those considering it. Solving the education crisis can help turn the tide, inspire optimism, and give parents more faith in their ability to raise thriving children.
Angela Morabito is the spokeswoman for the Defense of Freedom Institute and a visiting fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum. She is a former Department of Education press secretary.