COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — President Donald Trump’s executive order prioritizing school choice in funding may give Ohio a leg up in receiving grants.

Trump’s order directs the Secretary of Education to prioritize school choice programs in its grant programs and requires the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance for states to use grants for educational choice. Educational choice refers to parents being able to choose where to send their children using tax-funded scholarships or vouchers to attend private or charter schools.

As president, Trump has only so much power over funding. His executive orders can direct government branches to operate in certain ways, but all orders must come from presidential powers granted by Congress or the Constitution, according to the American Bar Association.

In the school choice order, he instructed the Department of Education to issue guidance for states to use federal funding to support voucher programs. However, federal funding is set by Congress, and states may still be able to use their own discretion in choosing whether to comply with the guidance.

Trump applauded the dozen states that have implemented universal K-12 scholarship programs, including Ohio. The move has come with mixed responses in Ohio, a state where any student regardless of income can receive funding to attend private school. Watch previous coverage of Ohio stakeholders’ response in the video player above.

Trump’s order to prioritize school choice in grants will likely allocate more funds to school choice states. Republican strategist Bob Clegg said the order will have a larger effect on states without such expansive voucher programs.

Ohio is among the states that spend the most on education choice each year, which could give the state a leg up in receiving charter school grant funding.

On Jan. 31, the Department of Education announced it was withdrawing two notices opening applications for grants. These were distributed in the final days of former President Joe Biden’s administration and the department is replacing them with more “streamlined” applications.

The department said the applications under Biden “included excessive regulatory burdens and promoted discriminatory practices” and that the withdrawal will allow the department to ensure the requirements comply with Trump’s program priorities.

In the same memo, the department said it would be fast-tracking $33 million in charter school grants stalled under Biden. These grants are typically multi-million dollar awards given to state education departments and private charter school alliance organizations. The Department of Education said grant recipients will be prohibited from spending grant funds on DEI initiatives or “race-based discriminatory practices.” Since 2017, the first data available, Ohio has not been awarded any of these grants.

Within 90 days, the Secretary of Education and the Secretary of Health and Human Services will have submitted their plans to the president, per the executive order. At that time, more information will likely become available as to the effect of the order.