Congressman Burgess Owens (R-UT), former NFL player, entrepreneur, and passionate advocate for education freedom, joins the second episode of Freedom to Learn to discuss how education is a critical national security issue and the foundation of the American Dream. In this insightful conversation, Rep. Owens highlights key federal legislative efforts, including the Educational Choice for Children Act, aimed at expanding access to education options and empowering families across the country.

Rep. Owens brings a personal perspective to the discussion, having grown up in the segregated South with educators for parents. He speaks candidly about how education transformed his life and the lives of others in his community. Today, he is fighting to restore educational excellence by promoting school choice, merit-based systems, and innovation in the classroom. He also tackles the challenges posed by teacher unions, ideological battles over curriculum, and the ongoing FAFSA fiasco under the U.S. Department of Education.

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In the opening episode of the “Freedom to Learn” podcast, host Ginny Gentles speaks with Congresswoman Virginia Foxx, chairwoman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, about expanding education freedom, protecting parental rights, and reducing the federal government’s role in K-12 education. Dr. Foxx also discusses the committee’s recent accomplishments, including holding the U.S. Department of Education responsible for the FAFSA rollout debacle and combating the dangerous rise in anti-semitism in our nation’s educational institutions.

Freedom to Learn is for policymakers and advocates fighting for parental rights and education freedom for students and teachers. Host Ginny Gentles, Director of the Defense of Freedom Institute's Education Freedom and Parental Rights Initiative, interviews guests who are confronting powerful unions and bureaucratic systems. Each episode demystifies school choice, counters misconceptions, and spotlights the people who put students over systems.

Freedom to Learn is produced by the Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC.