A Texas mom told Fox News Digital that she is "grateful to the Trump administration" for passing federal tax credit scholarships to advance school choice policies in the country after she experienced success with her own children.
"We are so grateful to the Trump administration. A lot of people don't know the things that they're doing for education," Greta Alexander told Fox News Digital.
"Our people - we don't study. We say things that we don't know about. But if you could get in there and get the information and know what you're talking about, our kids could be saved. It'll be less prisoners. Education changes everything," the longtime resident of Fort Worth, Texas, added.
Alexander's comments came after she spoke at the White House during a Black History Month reception on Wednesday. She was invited to join Secretary Linda McMahon's education roundtable to discuss the impact of school choice policies.
HOUSTON SCHOOL DISTRICT TRYING TO WOO PARENTS WHILE LOSING STUDENTS AMID SCHOOL CHOICE COMPETITION
"I don't think there was a dry eye in the room. And for everyone in that room to hear directly from a recipient of a school choice scholarship, her story moved the room," ACE spokesperson Dacia Henshaw told Fox News Digital.
With President Donald Trump standing behind her at the podium, Alexander, a mother of three, shared the story of losing one of her sons, Terrance, to drug addiction. She expressed relief that her daughter, Miracle Alexander, was able to attend private school due to receiving an ACE scholarship.
"I felt locked into my zip code and I live in a private area here in Texas," Alexander told Fox News Digital. "I went looking for scholarships, and I was inquiring and when ACE came about, that was a perfect fit for me and my family."
Many organizations, such as the ACE Scholarship, advocate allowing parents to send their kids to schools outside their neighborhood or opt out of going to public school in general. Established 26 years ago, ACE Scholarships issue privately raised scholarships for lower-income families. Since its inception, ACE says it has delivered more than 121,000 scholarships worth over $395 million to students in 13 states.
Alexander wanted to personally thank the president for signing into law a federal tax credit scholarship that, when it's launched in 2027, will be accessible to every state in the country. Trump signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill" in July last year.
Tax-credit scholarships, usually operated at the state level, are a form of school choice that allows individuals or businesses to receive full (100%) or partial credits when they contribute to a nonprofit that provides private school scholarships. The tax code change is permanent because there is no expiration date in the law.
The federal tax-credit scholarship program allows taxpayers to reduce their tax bill, the same type of mechanism on the state level. But, governors have to opt in to the program.
Similar to Greta Alexander, parents across the country have been seeking schools outside their neighborhood district and opting for charter schools, homeschooling, and private schools as several school districts in major American cities are struggling to retain students. Homeschooling has also seen an uptick since the coronavirus pandemic, according to recent data.
Alexander contrasted Miracle's experience in private school to her other two sons who were enrolled in their neighborhood public schools in Fort Worth Independent School District.
Alexander said that one of her sons was an average student, although the other, Terrance, ended up dying tragically because of drug use.
"I had one child in high school, and I was pregnant with another one before I graduated. There was no communication, there was no one to talk to. So no one explained how life should go," Alexander told Fox News Digital.
TRUMP ADMIN TO MAKE HISTORIC INVESTMENT IN CHARTER SCHOOLS AMID NATIONWIDE DECLINE IN PUBLIC SCHOOL ENROLLMENT
"And so, when I started having my children, I didn't have money to afford private school. So my two older children were in public school."
Miracle, on the other hand, is thriving and aspires to be an "anesthesiology nurse."
"My daughter has been a part of ACE scholarships for the last seven years. And what they do is they pay a percentage of her tuition so that it won't be so hard on me to pay the other half. So it's been a benefit for us," Alexander said.
Norton Rainey, CEO of ACE Scholarships, told Fox News Digital that when "families have abundant access to school choice, their children flourish both in and outside the classroom."
He went on to say, "Greta and Miracle Alexander showed the entire country the power of having access to a quality learning environment, and the stakes of going without it."
