As with many of Trump’s executive orders, it’s unclear what the practical implications of the new mandates will be. Federal education dollars represent a small proportion — about 11% in 2021 — of K-12 school funding. The lion’s share is sent to states to help pay for services for children with disabilities and those living in poverty. A host of rules govern how the rest is spent.

President of the education policy organization 50CAN, Derrell Bradford anticipates that allowing military families to use their federal education funds to enroll their children in the schools of their choice will be well received. Schools operated by the Department of Defense are routinely among the highest-performing in the country, but servicemembers move frequently, and many dislike switching schools.

Bradford also says the order likely will make it easier to access the main federal program for funding new public charter schools and expanding successful ones. The Biden administration, he says, slowed Charter School Program grantmaking.

It’s unclear, Bradford and Hess say, whether there are enough private school alternatives to schools run by the Defense Department — particularly overseas — and the Interior Department’s Bureau of Indian Affairs to make vouchers meaningful for those students. ...