Good morning everybody and welcome to ai. My name is robert gore and im so pleased to have you here this morning for this important discussion of education policy in the united states. We are particularly gratified and happy to have the secretary of Education Betsy Devos with us, her husband, Council PresidentKellyanne Conway. Its an honor to have them here for this discussion on a topic that is particularly important to ai and our Education Policy Team led by rick s area and were also pleased to have , i like to say that ai is a washington based think tank but we are not a washington focused think tank so we have three distinguished leaders around the country from tennessee to arizona and pennsylvania and they will talk about how some of these issues were talking about in washington to parents and schools in those parts of the country. Really thats what our discussion is all about. How can we make our schools better read a little bit about just to get a sense of how i come to this issue and look at and why i think its so important, some of you may know i spent 20 years in social services of new york state and new york city working on antipoverty programs and im focused on the various issues and our ways in which we help people get out of work, get out of poverty. Personal responsibility, work, work support, those things were important but i always knew that there was another domain , another domain of activity that was equally important to our safety programs, may be more important in helping struggling families move up and helping their children economically and that was the world of education and no one has done more it seems to me expanding options and choices and fighting forgiving parents and children the ability to make choices about their future and estate, when i received the city of new york and have perceived across the country, failing Public Schools and the current secretary of Education Betsy Devos so as i look at this and i think about this issue and think about the proposal that the secretaries going to talk about today, it seems to me it is about just that. How do we provide options for families and children so they can make the choices they need to improve their fortunes in the future. No issue is more important it seems to me in helping families move up economically. Ai that the principal focus of our work. Economic opportunity for all so i am particularly glad to have the secretary and her husband devos, we welcome you back here and were honored to have you, thank you for being here. [applause] thank you all, good morning. And thank you to ati for hosting this important for him today. Robert, thanks for your hospitality and for your principal conservative leadership , especially now in your new role. Its always a pleasure to be back here with so manyfriends. Our ideas are advanced by the work ofthis institute. There are many who have worked for the cause of education, freedom and our nations students , especially so im looking forward to ourconversation today. Were here to talk about education freedom scholarships. Let me just say a few things about our proposal and set the table before our discussion. Heres what it is. A 5 billion annual income tax cut for voluntary contributions to 501 c 3 nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to students. The key elements of the proposal is freedom. Freedom for everyone involved. , family, teachers. Schools, states. Any and all can choose to participate or they can elect not to participate. Thats what freedom is all about. We know gaining this freedom will require more work in somestates than others and certainly in that body of the hill. As more states offer more options to families, demand will rise and pressure will mount on those who have not yet embraced the opportunity. Ultimately, freedom scholarships require only one thing. Students and parents must be empowered to make decisions and choices. It should come as no surprise to anyone in this room why we stepped forward with a bold transformative idea for students. American education isnt working for too many of them. We know this for more than 35 years. The devastating landmark report on a nation at risk detailed the dire state of American Education and warned us all and i quote, history is not kind to icelanders. If theres any word to describe too many parts of American Education today its idle. Youve seen our nations report card. You know what i mean. Two and three other nations eight graders art proficient in any core subject. Two thirds. We also know this. United states ranks 24th in reading, 20 in science and 40th in math in the world. The freedom to pursue happiness. On this we can all agree or at least we should be able to. I remain dumbfounded that some conservatives who masquerade as education reformers have criticized this proposal. Who would have thought that ted cruz or i have all people would be accused of trying to grow the federal government to think about that for a minute. You all know me. I have fought alongside of many view for more than 30 years to expand the freedom of families and diminish the role of government in our lives. I wouldnt support anything that violates my principles or hours. Here is whether education Freedom Fellowship proposal doesnt do. Doesnt grow the government bureaucracy one tiny bit. It doesnt create a new Government Office of School Choice. It doesnt impose it doesnt impose any new requirements on states are on families. It doesnt take a single dollar from Public School students and it doesnt spend a single dollar of government government money and it doesnt entangle schools with stifling red tape. In fact, it cant and thats by design. The truth is our proposal is a highly efficient and effective way of funding education. It connects the dollars to the students, not the system. With no bureaucratic sponge in between. The education freedom scholarship are the conservative answer to what ails education in america. They also happen to be the answer that a supermajority of parents reticulated africanamerican and hispanic parents are looking for. They are the reason education freedom is on the march from florida to pennsylvania, from illinois to arizona in many places in between. I had just come back from a tour across the midwest to highlight opportunities education and freedom will provide. At every stop they heard from students, families, teachers and local lawmakers about how education freedom is changing lives. But i also heard the loud voices of bullies who are threatened by that freedom. Its their right to demonstrate and to protest and to say sick things. What worries me though is the message they are sending to parents of students. Big union bullying is flatout unjust. Its unfair to the many students and parents who simply want better for themselves or their sons or their daughters. I have been blessed to get to know many families who have exercised education freedom. Many have low income. Many are black or hispanic. Many are burning the candle at offense to make ends meet and help their children have a better life. They arent antiPublic Schools or for privatization. They couldnt care less about how a school is legally structured or how the funds flow they care about their kids. They care about than getting a great education. They care about them being safe. They care about how schools can help them prepare their children for successful careers and meaningful lives. On the other hand union bosses dont put kids first. They dont put kids futures first. They put themselves first. Look no further than west virginia. Many of us remember the first plight which kept students from learning for two weeks. A second strike is far more telling. There was already in place to deal for yet another pay raise so why did unions force another strike . Because the bill would have also allowed for up to seven Charter Schools and would have created esas for small number of families, maybe enough to satisfy or to serve less than one erg of 1 , about 1000 of west virginias 300,000 students. This is clearly antiparent and antistudent. Education freedom is pro parent and pro student. Its not antiPublic School. If your school is working for your child you can stay put. One parents freedom to make a choice doesnt mean everyone else has to make the same choice its not about elevating one type of school over another. Its about trusting parents and believing in students. My mission is to unleash a new era of innovation and education to drive unprecedented achievement. It will happen in public and private schools alike and we should embrace that. Our applications is into any type of school. Its two students. Americas students can lead the world because america must continue to lead the world. Its time we put them first and thats exactly what education freedom scholarships will do. Thank you and im looking forward to our conversation. [applause] thank you madam secretary. That was terrific. We now have 35 minutes for a conversation. With the secretary and we have the pleasure of being joined by Kellyanne Conway senior counsel to the president of the united states. Madam secretary u. Talked a bit about the education freedom scholarships but i wonder first if we could go a bit more to the nittygritty. You mentioned that these complement the existing programs in the state. What are the programs in the stated how does this complement those and how does this all work ranks again wrecked for the opportunity to be here in kelly and its so great to see you went to be with you. States can decide whether or not they want to participate in this program and there are many states today that actually have some kind of choice program. Most of them have public Charter Schools and many of them have private School Choice programs. With this proposal would do is be a booster to all of those programs. It could augment and expand existing programs or we have also encouraged people to think more broadly about what new creative ways they could use the funds that would come from the Tax Credit Program to help satisfy the need in their state. Its in rural states in particular. Many times people will say theres no way we will have another building next to arra high school. But i say think differently about what choice can mean. What about students in that school one of whom might want to study something that the school cant possibly offer. That school or that child, that student could elect to take that course virtually from the finest teacher somewhere in the world or perhaps theres a handful of students in that school who learn differently but dont have the opportunity to go somewhere else physically to school. Theres no reason they couldnt opt to have a microschool within their school. That perch, they are learning differently and it allows them to write for them to be there. Theres no into the way to be creative to really implement choices for families and this is meant to really help jumpstart states that havent taken that leap and to encourage them to do that, not mandate it and to augment states that are to have taken that lead and want to continue to provide opportunities for students. It sounds like we are talking about more than private School Choice and more Charter Schools. Heard the secretary talking about a variety of options. How does this work . They stayed already has some of these programs. Who decides if they are there and how did do they work . How does this money support it . How does that change any of this . Let me add my gratitude for having us today in elevating such an important issue into the consciousness of anyone watching here now or in the future. The secretary gave the very powerful set of opening remarks that i think touched upon many different aspects here and i would like to amplify some of those in answer to those particular questions. About 15 states they have programs in the states are not red or blue politically. They are. Diverse everything from illinois in the states the way this works federally you have a scholarship granting organizations ended them usually involves educators, Education Specialist perhaps others could weigh in that they have to prove the formula. They have to prove up who or what would receive the actual money and what they would do with that. One thing that comes with the freedom secretary has so eloquently spoken to his flexibility. One of the main points of appeal to me as a Public Policy practitioner and as somebody who works on behalf of the country and as a parent is the flexibility to use those money certainly for the classroom and for traditional curriculum and instruction but also for tutoring for summer programs, for Virtual Learning and needs the educators may have identified in that area. That is really why even though its on your federal tax form, the credit you would take it doesnt reduce your Tax Liability but it increases the funding for the children in the states and with that freedom comes flexibility. This does not disturb the state programs. The state programs are best practices that show hey this is already working in places in the statebystate level and theyve been wildly successful. Truly if you build it they will come in here comes. Many organizations have come because they figure if they are paying their taxes anyway and get a tax credit that helps they can more readily direct the money toward scholarships granting opportunities in their own state. This is something that has been a priority for this president. Certainly the education freedom scholarship of the overall flexibility in the freedom agenda for education. I have to say the very first time i met cory booker was in the education space. I met him at a School Choice event in new jersey or maybe it was manhattan. Id oliva was in newark, new jersey. He was there was a mutual friend of ours through the School Choice movement prayed he was able to cross the ill put not the political aisle. That really is an fortunate because as the secretary pointed out she described it as being dumbfounded. Its really disheartening to see a lack of bipartisan consensus on what is quintessentially a bipartisan issue. We should really put the kids first and what we can legislate to legislatively and more proficiently the drug prices every democrat who voted for h. R. 6 the comprehensive piece of legislation in our nations history year ago every single democrat voted in favor of it. We can do this is something that is fundamental and nonpartisan in nature giving people access to more treatment and more education when it comes to drugs and making sure people who have paid their debt to Society Giving these children, these students more flexibility and freedom to learn and to prosper and be economically independent. Would the with that for a second. Counsel or you just mentioned the first step with broad bipartisan support. Obviously its not seen thus far with regard to the educational scholarships. Whats the difference here . Why is it playing out differently in education and criminal Justice Reform . The secretary certainly touched upon the unions. She was remarking that the union bosses dont put the students first. I would challenge and defy each of them to prove otherwise. What are they so afraid of . It doesnt take money away from the Public Schools. This amplifies and it actually helps the Public Schools and that is the secretary said maybe that school already offers courses and resources at another institution of learning does not so perhaps but i notice many of the folks who are against who dont have the students first also dont put their own children in Public Schools. That is the cruel irony of well lets just call it hypocrisy. Its past 9 00 a. M. In its tuesday in congress is in recess. Its ironic that its hypocritical as well so back to my point you have Elizabeth Warren of all people firmly talking about the benefit of free funding vouchers and all the freedom and flexibility that would deliver. The aforementioned cory booker many Many Democrats over the years. I remember working with senator Joe Lieberman and representatives flake and a bipartisan fashion in the congress 20 years ago. The only thing that has changed is we have more students in need i would challenge any of them to save this as a pure make enough politics and its unfortunate because we have an entire generation suffering from lack of bipartisan support. Hope springs eternal and maybe they will see what has happened in their own state these 18 states in growing what could happen if we put to the test at the federal level. I would echo what kelly and said kellyanne said that every Single Person than secretary of education since Charter Schools have become the thing have supported Charter Schools in their expansion. So it is inconceivable to me that we would now be in a place where democrats resist and deny the benefit to students that freedom can provide and the opportunity for each defined their right fit would mean ultimately for our nation. Lets talk about the proposal. Theres the figure 5 million attached to it. How does that work . Is the anticipation that there will be 5 Million Dollars a year in contributions and how would it be allocated across states . The 5 billion dollar annual fund that individuals or corporations would choose to voluntarily contribute a portion of their federal tax bill to one of these 501 c 3 organizations participating states would name the 5 zero 501 c 3 that could receive them and if all 50 states participated each state would get a portion of those funds as designated by the formulation so a combination of consideration of poverty and population. If the states chose not to parti