Freedom to Learn

Walter Blanks on Escaping a Failing School, Tennessee’s Big Win, & The Truth About School Choice Critics

• Ginny Gentles • Season 1 • Episode 12

Share episode

In this episode of Freedom to Learn, Walter Blanks Jr., spokesperson for the American Federation for Children, shares his personal story of escaping a failing school—thanks to a mother who refused to accept the status quo. He reveals how a school choice scholarship in Ohio transformed his future and why he’s fighting to give every child the same opportunity. Walter also breaks down Tennessee’s landmark Education Freedom Act, exposing the uphill battle to pass it and what it means for families statewide. Plus, he challenges the biggest myths about school choice and weighs in on the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) and what it could mean for families across the country.

🔗 Links & Resources:

  • Visit our website: DFIPolicy.org

💡 Stay Connected:

  • Follow us on Instagram: @DFIPolicy
  • Follow us on Twitter: @DFIPolicy
  • Follow us on Facebook: /DFIPolicy
  • Subscribe to our YouTube channel (@DFIPolicy) for future episodes!

📩 Contact Us:
If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at Podcast@DFIPolicy.org.

🎧 Thank You for Listening:
Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at DFIPolicy.org.

If you enjoyed this episode, please give it a thumbs up, share it, and subscribe for more insights into education law and policy. Thank you for your support!

Ginny Gentles (0:00)

Welcome to Freedom to Learn, the podcast that champions choice in education, defends parental rights, and exposes the harm caused by school unions. I'm Ginny Gentles, Director of Education, Freedom, and Parental Rights at DFI, the Defense of Freedom Institute in Washington, DC.


Walter Blanks, Jr. (0:21)

The question that I always ask is, does the money belong to a system or does that money belong to parents and families when it comes to actually educating children, right? The whole thing is that we allocate and spend all of these dollars for education, but the results show us that children are not being educated. And so a lot of that money goes to administrative bloat and a whole bunch of different other things that doesn't touch the classroom, doesn't touch the teachers, doesn't touch academic outcomes. And so, there needs to be a complete overhaul.


Ginny Gentles (0:50)

Today we're joined by a passionate education freedom advocate, Walter Blanks Jr. for a wide ranging conversation. We discussed Tennessee's new statewide education freedom program, the federal Educational Choice for Children Act proposal, and the growing number of young advocates who benefited from school choice when they were in school. We also tackle myths perpetuated by unions and the organizations defending the K-12 status quo. 

Walter had a busy week last week joining Tennessee Governor Bill Lee in Nashville as he signed the state's new Education Freedom Act of 2025 into law and then flying to Washington DC for President Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon's confirmation hearing. Walter is a spokesperson for the American Federation for Children and a beneficiary of Ohio's school choice scholarship program. His advocacy journey began at a young age when he realized that children don't have to be trapped in underperforming schools and he's been working to make a difference ever since.


Ginny Gentles (1:50)

Walter Blanks, welcome to Freedom to Learn.


Walter Blanks, Jr. (1:53)

Thank you so much for having me, Ginny. Really appreciate it.


Ginny Gentles (1:56)

There's great news out of Tennessee where you currently live. Tell us what's happening with education freedom there.


Walter Blanks, Jr. (2:01)

Yeah, of course. So the governor called a special session a couple of weeks ago with school choice being one of the priorities to be discussed. And so the legislature passed the education freedom scholarship and this will allow 20,000 students to take advantage of school choice across the state. And if those scholarship applicants take up roughly 75%, if 75% of families apply for it, the legislature will come back next year and increase the number of scholarships by 5,000. And they would do that each year. And ultimately Governor Bill Lee’s been very outspoken about the importance of children being around the conversation of education, but also parents. And so this is a step the right direction to ensure that we're actually educating children here in the state of Tennessee and that families are part of that conversation, are really driving these educational dollars wherever they may be a good fit for their own child. 


And so Tennessee was the first legislative win of the year for the country. The governor is very, very proud to be a beacon, right? And an example for the rest of the country as we see Texas, right? Texas is really, really close to passing school choice. And a lot of other states, I believe there is 80 plus bills, new bills that have been filed this legislative session across the country for school choice programs. 

And so the momentum is definitely on our side and good policy and good opportunities are coming to families nationwide.

Ginny Gentles (3:35)

you all were the first to get something passed and it did seem to happen quickly, but this wasn't truly an easy victory, right? I saw somewhere that you wrote, “The session was a beast, but when the dust settled, parents and students came out on top.” So any comments on how all this unfolded?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (3:52)

Yeah, so the fight for Tennessee has been going on long before I got here. And even in 2019, when the pilot program passed that only gave access to two counties, and then which eventually got expanded to three counties, that was a long and hard fought battle. Organizations like the American Federation for Children and many others were heavily involved during that entire time. And even last year, I was, this was the first year that I was really involved in Tennessee. And we took some bumps, right? We took some bruises and it was a heartbreaker that we didn't get it passed last session. And to see the governor, the speaker of the house, the lieutenant governor, and everyone that was involved really come together and put forth meaningful policy in a time where some states have already got it figured out, right? I'm originally from Ohio and Ohio's program is very, very robust. 


And so, being able to be a part of that movement in a state that had very limited programs and now it is, it's open, it's statewide, it's universal, is really, really important. And this one was a little bit special because this is something that my son can potentially benefit from as my wife and I are looking at options for him. I mean, he's only, he turns one next month, but we are very serious about his education and where we want to put him. And me being someone who's benefited from school choice, I want him to have every single option available to him, which might include our public schools, but it might involve something else. And so being on the front lines of this battle here in the state was very, very special to me.


Ginny Gentles (5:24)

Well Walter, I love hearing you talk about your wife and your son. I met you quite a few years ago while you were still a student. And as you said, you grew up in Ohio. And you and I have talked many times about your educational experience while growing up. What was school like for you?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (5:43)

Well, school was an absolute nightmare for me at the very beginning. My family, my parents put me in multiple schools. I was almost in a different school every year and we tried everything. We tried community schools, homeschooling, the public school system. And it just did not work out at all for me. And my mother finally had enough when I was sitting in the principal's office with a bloody nose and the principal told her, you just give us five years, we'll have it turned around and then the high school would be turned around and there will be places, there will be places where I can thrive. And my mother said in five years, Walter will either be in jail or in a body bag. And we don't have time for either of those things. And so now you fast forward almost 20 years ago now, that school that I left some years it performs worse than it did when I was there. And then on a good year, it performs exactly where it was when I left. 


And so 20 years of just absolute failure for students is not acceptable. And there are some parents who trust the administrators, right? They say, okay, five years, I guess we'll just wait. And there's been absolute decades and decades of learning loss, of failure, and these children need opportunities. And so because of the school choice program in Ohio, I ended up in a small private school where it made all the difference for me. I thrived, I played sports, I played instruments, I got caught up academically.


I fell into the river in the middle of February with a good friend of mine. And all of these things, all of these opportunities were because of the access to education that I had. I mean, even all the way up to sitting next to President Trump at the White House, telling them that one day I was going to have his job, right? Like, like all of those instances, all of those moments, everything in between have been because of my educational journey. And I often wonder how many children have not been able to realize or reach their full potential because they are in educational environments that don't work for the best.


Ginny Gentles (7:43)

Let's talk about the role that your mother played in finding an alternative option for you and also for your siblings. I met you at a school choice event in Indianapolis years ago and within minutes of meeting, you were talking about how great your mother is. I've met her and I agree with you. what was the role that she played in getting you settled into this new option?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (8:04)

Yeah, well, I'm sure she's absolutely going to love this. She was an absolute bulldog for me and all my siblings, but primarily me because I was the problem child, so to speak. And so there were times in the public schools where she would take off work and come sit right next to me in the classroom all day to ensure that I wasn't misbehaving and that I was actually learning and doing the things that I was supposed to do. The multiple meetings with principals, teachers, just everything. There was nothing more that she could have done to ensure that I was actually where I was supposed to be in my academics. 


And I also don't give my dad a lot of credit either because most of the time he was working and providing for us and all of these things. But the first time I read something by myself was one of his old comic books because the public school system was not getting it done for me. My dad literally had to teach me how to read and my parents did everything by the book, everything that that legislators or policymakers tell us to do so that I could be better in school, whether it's like bake sales or getting involved with the school, like all of these things. And it simply was not working. And so she just simply had enough and said, we are going to find something better for you. And we get a random call from an organization, school choice organization, that is actually isn't even in existence anymore. 


And they just called her up and said, hey, Walter goes to this school. He might be eligible for this program to send him to a private school. And at the time, my mom was just like, there's no way private school has never been an option for us. And so they were adamant and getting us this information. And it turned out to be the lifesaving thing that made all the difference for me. And so my mother over the years has watched me transform from that young school boy to a man and now with a, with a family of his own and doing incredible things. And she couldn't be more proud. 


She's extremely supportive. She actually came to Nashville a couple of weeks ago while I debated a school board member on the merits of school choice, right before session started. And I was super nervous. In all the years I've done this, I've never done anything like that. And so she drove from Ohio to Nashville to be with me. And she's just, she's always been my rock, right? Someone who has always supported me and made sure that I was confident in myself. There were times where I got knocked down, even during the special sessions. I had some lawmakers coming after me and I called her and I said, “I don't feel like I did very well.” She's like, well, it's over. Like, what are you going to do about it now? Right? How are you going to pick this up? And she's always there to remind me that the work that I'm doing is so much bigger than me that I can't allow a bad interview or bad testimony really stop me because there are so many children that are counting on the work that all of us are doing in this space. so that they can become the next Walters or Dinesha Allens in the world to ensure that they can contribute to society and ultimately change it.


Ginny Gentles (11:03)

Well Walter, young people listening to you now or seeing you on Fox or watching you testify, watching you debate, they might think, well, Walter's an expert and he's just naturally really good at this, but you actually started speaking up on behalf of School Choice at a pretty young age at the state level and then eventually at the national level. What was that process like for you? Did you have to get over some nerves initially?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (11:26)

Yeah, a lot of nerves and, but even more than the nerves, I was going toe to toe at the age of 15, 16 years old. I was going up against lobbyists, right? Legislators who are very well established, have way more knowledge in this space than I do. I was just a kid who wanted every kid to have the same opportunity that I did, not even fully understanding the political impacts, if there were actual legislators who were fighting for this long before I even came into the picture. 


And so a lot of it I dealt with, not necessarily imposter syndrome, but not being enough, right? I felt like I didn't know enough or I wasn't one of the cool people in the space. But as I started sharing my experiences, I realized I had a very unique perspective. I wasn't someone who disbenefited or believed in this program. I'd lived it firsthand. And when I realized that and started to really harness that, I understood that there was nothing that someone on the opposite side could say because I was living proof that this was willing to work. And so after that, the rooms just kept getting bigger. I shared my story at the anniversary of the Supreme Court case in Ohio. And it was like 3000 people in the audience, right? Just like absolutely incredible experience. 


And so I just continue to work on my craft and continue to think about that little Walter and who I'm fighting for, even now my son, and realize that that's why I'm doing this, right? Some people do this for political reasons or for their own gain. I just want every kid in America to have the same opportunity in their education that I did. And when that's steering me and when that's my North Star, it's very hard to mess up so bad that I wanna go pick another profession.


Ginny Gentles (13:16)

Well Walter, I feel like I've heard a lot of advice woven into that answer, but as you're talking to the young people who have benefited from school choice programs, who are coming up through the American Federation for Children's Fellows program, what is the one top piece of advice that you give to them?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (13:35)

Yeah. So I was actually just with them in Arkansas because they got to do all kinds of stuff for their fellowship. And right before one of our programs, I was actually running up to my hotel room to do the Fox news interview and they all watched it they were just like, they were, they were amazed, right? They were, they couldn't believe it. And the thing that I always tell them is that this is what's possible, right? Because legislators, the media, everyone wants to hear


from the people that have directly benefited from this, right? The actual users. And so I always encourage them, like, don't be afraid, don't be nervous. We are here to make sure that you're prepped and you're ready and you know how to stay on messaging, how to get your point across. But at the end of the day, they should be the ones leading this conversation. We should be the ones leading this conversation because we have directly benefited from it. And so I tell them, said, look, people want to hear from you. It doesn't matter how old you are, how much experience you have. People want to hear from you. 


And so I am really there primarily in the fellowship role as that professional personal development person to help them kind of beat the nerves before they're getting ready to testify or whatever the case may be. But I'm also very real with them, right? It's like, look, I have been doing this for a long time, but I am not the most knowledgeable person that could talk about school choice. But because I have lived this, that gives me that validity and opens the door for all kinds of opportunities. 


But at the end of the day, it's really just preparation. And our fellows have gone on to testify before committees and do incredible things. And I couldn't be more proud of them. And as I'm spending more time with this current cohort, I want all of them on Fox. I want all of them on CNN. I want all of them on all the national media because, and you know this Ginny, at one point in time, it was basically Denisha and I on the national stage. Denisha was on the national stage long before I was even on there. But now we have so many families, so many students that have benefited. They need to be in front of the cameras. They need to be speaking at events. They need to be on the front lines because their voice matters now more than ever.


Ginny Gentles (15:44)

Denisha is a beneficiary of the Florida scholarship program from years ago who started speaking up also at a young age while she was still a student, got practice, and then rose to national attention. So both of you have a lot of experience tackling education, freedom myths, school choice myths. And there are a lot of those swirling around right now, in part because President Trump has expressed support for school choice, and so that has really activated the unions and the K-12 system. And also because we have a nomination discussion happening around his nominee for Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon. And then we have a proposal at the federal level for an educational choice for children act, ECCA, that's being discussed in Congress.


So unions, union controlled politicians, they're getting pretty animated and vocal about their opposition to education freedom. Why? Why do these union leaders oppose school choice? What exactly are they defending?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (16:46)

Yeah, well, to just be frank, they're defending their power. They're defending the status quo and the overall bureaucracy that it has, in large part, failed millions of students for decades, right? We talk about the NAEP scores and how the NAEP scores revealed we are currently seeing a 30-year low for academic outcomes.


And families have been failed, even long before that, especially in communities that don't have access to better education. And so we saw all this stuff with the Democrats, you know, going to the Department of Education and trying to get in, you know, all of these different things. And I said, let's be very clear about this. This has nothing to do with children. It's about the bureaucracy protecting itself because now options and choice and innovation has entered the marketplace and they no longer have a stranglehold that they've had since its inception. And so it's really, I think, very important for us when we're having these conversations to always remember that a lot of this is really just political theater. It's just like, that's just what it is. It's just a lot of noise. And when you talk about the Trump administration, I mean, Trump campaigned on school choice, campaigned on putting education back into the hands of the states, but more importantly, back into the hands of parents and families.


He supported school choice in his first term. And so now we're not just seeing support for school choice. We're also seeing support for cutting down bloat, cutting down bureaucracy and cutting down waste across all departments, but not excluding the education department for sure. So now Democrats primarily, teachers unions, are upset because their power is being threatened, right? Things are getting looked at under a microscope and they don't like that. And there's no better way to show an example of that than last week. They were going to the department to talk to DOGE, to talk to whoever about what was going on- 


Ginny Gentles (18:38)

Were they? Were they, or were they just…


Walter Blanks, Jr. (18:41)

Yeah. I mean I'll give the benefit of the doubt on intentions. I will not speculate on that, but if this was really about children, right, we would have seen those exact actions taken just a week before. When we saw from the NAEP scores that children are doing absolutely abysmal across the country.


If this was truly about children, there would have been conversations about that. There would have been conversations about what needs to be done, which we all know, Ginny, right. Curriculum, education specific things aren't coming from the Department of Education. They're happening at the state level. But if you're a member of Congress, sure, go to the department, have those conversations, but not when your power is threatened or not when the status quo is on the verge of being changed in an absolute powerhouse of an administration with president Trump and potentially Linda McMahon leading the department. 


And so I just like, let's call a spade a spade, right? Children have been failed and the people in charge, by and large primarily Democrats, have not done anything about it because it threatens the power that they hold. And so we're going to hear a lot of things over the next week or so around Linda McMahon, around the department, around what's going on, the Educational Choice for Children Act.


And I honestly couldn't be happier because for the first time in a really long time, parents feel empowered, students feel empowered, and the future looks bright. Like, what does it look like for states to be in charge of education? What does it look like for families to have the mobility, stack a federal school choice program on top of their state’s school choice program to give them more options, more opportunity, and more access, right? The one thing that the bureaucracy will do is fight to ensure that the bureaucracy stays there, right? Like that's the only thing. And it will do everything it can to protect itself at the expense of parents and families across the country.


Ginny Gentles (20:36)

You've mentioned the NAEP scores a couple of times. The 2024 NAEP, or Nation's Report Card data, came out recently. And I'll just throw one thing out there. For fourth grade reading, 30% of students are proficient, 40% are below basic. We have more students testing at the below basic level, which means functionally illiterate, than we have students who are proficient, who are reading at grade level.


So we have a crisis and we have no excuse for defending the existing system. And yet this is definitely what we're going to be hearing a lot out of Washington, DC and possibly from folks at the state level too. 


All let's tackle a few school choice myths. One that I think we'll be hearing a lot is that providing families with education options will defund public schools. How do you respond?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (21:29)

Absolutely not. I mean, we're seeing record spending in education across the board. Every year education spending, it goes up. I mean, even just here in Tennessee, they have increased the public education spending by almost like seven and a half billion since Governor Lee has been in office, which has been six years now. And we're seeing similar things across the country, right? Education spending continues to go up, continues to go up while academic results continue to go down. And so the issue of dollars, it's not a question of not being funded enough. It's how those dollars are being allocated and spent at the end of the day. We saw what, $190 billion in COVID money for schools and even through COVID, right? Even now we're seeing those academic scores continue to decline. And so there definitely needs to be accountability on how dollars are being spent.


And the question that I always ask is, does the money belong to a system or does that money belong to parents and families when it comes to actually educating children? Right? The whole thing is that we allocate and spend all of these dollars for education, but the results show us that children are not being educated. And so a lot of that money goes to administrative bloat and a whole bunch of different other things that doesn't touch the classroom, doesn't touch the teachers, doesn't touch academic outcomes. And so, there needs to be a complete overhaul. People who often argue about money being spent are not concerned with academic outcomes for children.


Ginny Gentles (23:02)

I'm hearing a lot about school choice or vouchers being a scheme pushed by billionaires and that somehow the billionaires will benefit from this scheme, implying that school choice is unpopular with the public. How do you respond to that?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (23:17)

Absolutely not. Every poll that I've seen that AFC has done, other organizations have done, have shown overwhelming support for school choice, not just in conservative spaces, but also between independent parties and even Democrat voters. Makes sense. Democrats are also parents with families, with kids who may not be in the best schools. And so overwhelming support across every demographic imaginable for school choice. 


What happens is politics gets involved, power gets involved you start talking about control and money and all these things It just gets really really wonky. And so it just baffles my mind that people who oppose school choice will defend a system that has that has failed so many families and so I've been told that you know, these things are voucher scams, right? The thing in Tennessee was a voucher scam and I'm like, well, it's not a voucher, it's an ESA, but sure like facts don't matter to you clearly.


And so this is something that people are passionate about, regardless of your income status or whatever the case may be. It's an opportunity to help children and empower parents to make that decision for them. And it goes back once again, the people who oppose school choice would do any and everything they can to distract from the fact that our system has failed countless students. I saw an interview with Randi Weingarten when they were talking about all this stuff with the Department of Education. And she's like, “Oh it's just a big money grab,”


right? And it's like, what about the decades of students that have been failed as someone who leads this massive organization, for teachers, right? Sure, that's fine. But at the end of the day, someone has to be concerned about how the children are doing. And for far too long, they've been forgotten. So a lot of these myths are just political noise and political theater, as I say. And I have to wade into it a little bit, but I'm concerned about the kids.


If you're not concerned about the kids, you are more than welcome to go do your own thing and do whatever it is that you want to do. But at some point in time, someone has to fight for these students.


Ginny Gentles (25:16)

They do love that term “scheme” or “scam.” It's always “vouchers,” as if voucher is a bad word. Like the National Education Association, and that's led by Becky Pringle, Randi Weingarten, who you mentioned, leads the American Federation of Teachers, AFT. But the NEA put out an email saying that Congress must not use reconciliation, which is a budget mechanism, as a means for passing ECCA, the Educational Choice for Children Act. But the NEA referred to it as $100 billion text credit voucher scheme. So is ECCA a scheme?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (25:53)

No, no, it's not at all. And it is such a beautiful piece of opportunity for families ultimately, right? It would function similar to without getting into the weeds entirely, but it would function like some of the state level tax credit programs like Florida. Individuals, corporations can donate and put it towards these scholarships and families will be empowered to choose what's best for their own children. 


And the people who oppose it will use every term, every word that they can to just once again distract from the fact that this would allow parents to be in that driver's seat and empowered, like whatever they can do, like whatever they can. And so it's extremely frustrating. And like I said, a lot of it will be noise and a lot of it we'll hear from, but parents know what's going on, like really, and even teachers know what's going on. And they want options, they want opportunity. And I fully believe that Congress should definitely follow President Trump's lead and get this done as soon as possible.


Ginny Gentles (26:58)

Okay, one more myth. The ranking member of the US House and Education Workforce Committee, Bobby Scott, recently claimed that there are efforts underway to privatize the American education system with taxpayer funds going to private schools to re-segregate public schools and erode services for students with disabilities. What's your response?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (27:18)

Once again, just absolute noise and nothing in that claim deals with children being in the best educational environment that works for them. Their solution is just keep kids exactly where they are and how dare you ask us any other questions. And the fact of the matter is, if a family chooses a public school and it's a great public school and it works for them, they're not going to pull them out and take them elsewhere unless there is a better option for them. 


And so when it comes to all of this privatizing education and all of this, once again, it's just hot button words to distract from the fact that the current system that we've created has not met the mark for millions of children. 


And then I love the comparison to resegregation and resegregating our schools when there was a report that was put out by the Hoover Institute that said segregation within the public school system has actually drastically increased since Brown v Board. When you look at it, it's like, yeah, it makes sense. Some of it is racial, but also a portion of that is economic segregation, right? If you are in a low income community and you can't buy the house in a nice neighborhood or be able to afford private school, the schools are going to look exactly like that community. And that was in my cases as well. We couldn't afford the affluent, predominantly white schools, public schools, or even the private schools. 


And so it blows my mind because school choice gives parents and families the opportunity to have access to those schools, to those schools that are putting out better academic outcomes, whether they're public or private. And so it's absolutely ridiculous. And even in Ohio, the school that I attended to, at one point in time, it was a predominantly white school. But because of the years of school choice and more options and more families being able to tap into that, it's now a very, very diverse private school. And because a lot of families want it and a lot of families now have the resources and the means to get their children there. And once again, it really frustrates me because look, obviously, I've been black my whole life. You know, that's a no brainer. I personally do not need lectures on segregation and the implications of being black in this country. But that doesn't matter because if I have a great education, all of that goes by the wayside, right? 


When I look at my story and the opportunities that I have been afforded had nothing to do with my race, but everything to do with the education that I received. And I believe giving more children that exposure to how America works and how the world works will be the best thing to secure our future.


Ginny Gentles (30:01)

Final thoughts on Educational Choice for Children Act. If a member of Congress is on the fence as to whether or not he or she should support this proposal, what would you want to say to them?


Walter Blanks, Jr. (30:14)

The time is now to get this passed. We've gone far too long. Parents have gone unheard for too long. Their voice is not represented. And I’d also just show them the NAEP course. Like this is where we are as a country. This is where we are in our public education system. Either you support the ECCA, or you support us continuing to do this for however long. And it's not sustainable. More children are going to fail. More children will be left behind if we do not take action now. And this is a perfect opportunity to deliver for roughly two million kids nationwide.


Ginny Gentles (30:47)

Walter, thank you so much for your commitment to education freedom. Thank you for being a good friend and for joining Freedom to Learn.


Walter Blanks, Jr. (30:54)
Of course, thank you so much for having me. Let's do it again soon.


Ginny Gentles (32:26)

Freedom to Learn is a production of the Defense of Freedom Institute. You can learn more about DFI at dfipolicy.org. If you have feedback or suggestions for future podcasts, please reach out to us at podcast@dfipolicy.org. If you enjoyed today's episode, please subscribe and leave a rating and review wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.