National School Choice Week was started in 2011, sponsored by the National School Choice Awareness Foundation. The purpose is to promote all forms of school choice from public school options such as traditional public school, public charter, or public magnet schools to private and non-traditional options such as online and home schooling. While both houses of Congress have passed commemorative resolutions recognizing School Choice Week; neither house has acted upon any legislation that has been introduced to actually make School Choice a reality for parents. Yellow is the color chosen to support this week because it reminds people of the classic yellow school bus. As a scarf, it can be worn over any outfit. Wearing a yellow scarf is a sign of support for school choice during School Choice Week.
EO 14191 recognizes that the Federal Education System is failing our youth with 70% of 8th graders below proficient in reading and 72% below proficient in math. This failure hinders national competitiveness in addition to devastating families and communities. Some states have enacted programs that allow parents to select the best educational setting for their children. This EO specifically supports the rights of parents to choose what schooling they want for their children. This EO establishes within the Department of Education, discretionary grants to expand education freedom for children based on their parents wants. The EO specifically identifies low-income, working families; military families; and Bureau of Indian Education as areas the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services will focus on first. The accompanying Fact Sheet President Trump Expands Educational Opportunities for American Families explains that the Trump Administration is defending parental rights and educational opportunity by empowering parents and students through school choice thereby fulfilling President Trump's promise to strengthen education through freedom and opportunity.
President Trump and his administration recognize that the future of the US depends upon our children's ability to learn, lead, and innovate. President Trump promises to advocate for the right of the parent to be the steward of their child's education. Remember that President Trump's goal for the Department of Education is to totally dismantle it and return education to parents and the individual states (discussed in my March 13, 2025 ANP Article). President Trump writes:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 25 through January 31, 2026, as National School Choice Week.
On January 28, 2026, the White House published the Research paper The Economic Impact of State Income Tax Elimination looks at the feasibility of eliminating state income taxes entirely. The entire PDF of the research provided by the Council of Economic Advisers is available online here. Alaska, Florida, Mississippi, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming have no state income tax of any kind. Washington taxes capital gains for certain high earners. Georgia and South Carolina are working on legislation to abolish state income tax. The analysis finds that there are harmful economic effects and fiscal effects due to state income taxes. The research hypothesizes that eliminating state income tax would increase GDP for the state, increase the number of high-income taxpayers, and provide wage earners with more money in their paycheck each payday.
The 7 members of the crew were Commander Dick Scobee; Pilot Michael Smith; Mission Specialists Ellison Onizuka, Judith Resnik, and Ronald McNair; as well as 2 payload specialists Gregory Jarvis from Hughes Aircraft Company and Christa McAuliffe as part of the Teacher in Space Project (now called the Educator Astronaut Project).
Commander Dick Scobee was born May 19, 1939 in Cle Elum, Washington. He joined the US Airforce in 1957. Dick received a Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1965. He earned pilot wings in 1966. In 1972 he became an Air Force test pilot. Dick married Virginia June Kent with whom he had 2 children. He is interred in Arlington National Cemetery.
Pilot Michael Smith was born April 30, 1945 in Beaufort, North Carolina. He attended the US Naval Academy graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science in Naval Science. In 1968, he earned a Master of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He completed naval aviation jet training in 1969 at the Naval Air Station in Kingsville, Texas. In 1972 he was assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier. Michael graduated US Naval Test Pilot School in 1974. In May 1980, he was selected for the astronaut program. Michael's voice was the last voice heard before the explosion where he uttered "Uh oh."
Mission Specialist Ellison Onizuka was born June 24, 1946 to Japanese American parents. He was the first person of Japanese ancestry to travel in space. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering in June 1969. He earned a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering in Fall 1969. He married Lorna Leiko Yoshida on June 7, 1969. They had 2 daughters. Ellison joined the US Airforce on January 15, 1970. He graduated from the US Air Force Test Pilot School in July 1975 and assigned to the Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Ellison was selected for the astronaut program in 1978 and completed his training in 1979. He had completed 74 hours in space at the time of the disaster.
Mission Specialist Dr Judith Resnik, PhD was born April 5, 1949 in Akron Ohio. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in 1970. She married Oldak on July 14, 1970 after which both she and her husband worked for RCA. Judith and Oldak divorced in 1975 because she did not want children but he did. She earned her PhD in electrical engineering with honors at the University of Maryland in 1977. Judith qualified as a pilot in 1977. She was selected in January 1978 as a mission specialist. She worked on research, development, software, and operating procedures for the Space Shuttle's Remote Manipulator System. She was the second American woman in space as well as the first Jewish woman.
Mission Specialist Dr Ronald McNair, PhD was born October 21, 1950 in Lake City, South Carolina to American parents of African descent. In 1959, Ronald refused to leave the public library because they would not allow him to check out any books. After both police and his mother were called, he was allowed to check out books and the library is now named after him. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in physics, magna cum laude, from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. He earned a PhD in physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1976. He received 4 additional doctorate degrees throughout his career. He was selected for the astronaut program in 1978. He was the 2nd American of African descent to fly in space.
Payload Specialist Gregory Jarvis was born August 24, 1944 in New York. In 1964, he earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering from State University of New York at Buffalo. In 1969 he earned a Master of Science in electrical engineering from Northeastern University. He joined the US Airforce in 1969. He was honorably discharged in 1973 at the rank of Captain after which he went to work for Hughes Aircraft. In 1984, Gregory was selected for the Space Shuttle Program. He was bumped from his first 2 scheduled flights, first by US Senator Jake Garn then by US Representative Bill Nelson. Unfortunately, the Challenger was his 3rd, and final, assignment. His body was recovered from the wreckage but 'escaped' from the recovery becoming lost at sea. They continued to search for his body and found it on April 15, 1896.
Payload Specialist Christa McAuliffe (nee Corrigan) was born September 2, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. She married Steven J McAuliffe in 1970. The couple had 2 children. She earned a Bachelor's degree from Framingham State University. Christa became a teacher in 1970 teaching history at Benjamin Foulois Junior High School in Morningside, Maryland. She completed a Master of Arts in education supervision and administration from Bowie State University in Maryland. Christa applied to the Teacher in Space Project in 1984 and was selected on July 19, 1985. The Challenger was her first space shuttle assignment.
The Trump Administration has committed to making the US once again dominant in the Space Race while acknowledging the inherent dangers to those who head to the stars. President Trump writes:
As we celebrate 250 years of American independence, this work is just the beginning of our next great chapter as we chart the course for a glorious American future in space.
On the day of this tragedy four decades ago, the great President Ronald Reagan declared: “The Challenger crew was pulling us into the future, and we will continue to follow them.” Today, under my leadership, we will continue to abide by this promise—leading boldly on Earth and beyond—as we carry their lasting legacy into a new Golden Age of American exploration and discovery.
Those are some of the exact words used by Google’s censors, aka 'Orwellian content police,' in describing many of our controversial stories. Stories later proven to be truthful and light years ahead of the mainstream media. But because we reported those 'inconvenient truths' they're trying to bankrupt ANP.
