FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington, DC (June 4, 2025) — Late last Friday, the Trump Administration released its detailed budget request for fiscal year 2026, including for the U.S. Department of Education (USED). As the nonprofit association that represents the nation’s thousands of magnet schools, Magnet Schools of America is deeply disappointed by the proposal to eliminate funding for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP). Eliminating MSAP would not only dismantle one of the most effective tools for expanding public school choice, it would also reverse decades of bipartisan progress in public education.
“MSAP has long been the only dedicated federal funding source for magnet schools—innovative, theme-based public schools of choice that cater to a wide variety of learning styles and prepare students from all backgrounds for higher education and rewarding careers,” said Ramin Taheri, CEO of Magnet Schools of America. “These schools embody the best of public education: they provide unique, academically excellent learning environments that attract students through choice rather than assignment based on a family’s zip code. Defunding MSAP undermines not only the Trump Administration’s stated commitment to school choice, but also the broader goal of making public education a driver of upward economic mobility and opportunity for all Americans.”
In the budget request, USED argues that school districts can continue to invest in magnet schools through the new K-12 Simplified Funding Program. But the reality is that the funding stream will never be sufficient to support the important work of opening new schools of choice. Congress explicitly chose to retain MSAP as a separate funding program when the Every Student Succeeds Act was passed in 2015 by large bipartisan majorities for exactly this reason.
“Magnet schools empower us to offer innovative programs ranging from STEM, arts, language immersion, career and technical education to highly regarded educational models such as Montessori and International Baccalaureate (IB) that inspire and prepare students from all backgrounds for future success,” said Dr. Kimberly R. Lane, President, Magnet Schools of America, and Senior Director, Magnet & Curriculum Enhancement Programs, Wake County Public School System. “Eliminating federal funding would strip families of meaningful school choices and deny students the enriched, engaging education they need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.”
“For decades, magnet schools have enjoyed broad bipartisan support because they work—and they work because of their long history of bipartisan support,” Taheri added.
The magnet school community calls on Congress to reject this shortsighted proposal and to fully fund the Magnet Schools Assistance Program in FY 2026. Our students deserve more choices—not fewer—and our nation needs a public education system that lifts up every learner, in every zip code, and puts America on a path toward continued greatness.
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Magnet Schools of America (MSA) is a nonprofit education association that represents more than 4,340 magnet schools serving nearly 3.5 million students across 46 states and the District of Columbia. MSA was founded in 1986 and authorized as a 501(c)3 in 1994. It supports and serves the leaders and teachers of magnet and theme-based schools, while promoting the development of new magnet programs.
