# American Federation for Children The American Federation for Children (AFC) is the most politically aggressive organization in the American [[School Choice]]. Founded in 2010 by [[Betsy DeVos]], it functions as the movement's **political muscle** — the organization that converts donor capital into state-legislative victories, primary-threats Republican legislators who vote against universal ESAs, and functions as a discipline mechanism on the Republican Party itself. Operates as a **501(c)(4)** (for lobbying), with an affiliated **501(c)(3)** (AFC Growth Fund, for research/education), and a **super PAC** (AFC Action, for independent expenditures). CEO: Tommy Schultz. ## Function in the School-Choice Coalition The [[School Choice Ecosystem]] is a multi-tier operation: [[Bradley Foundation]] and [[Koch Network]] at the funder tier, [[ALEC]] and [[State Policy Network]] at the model-legislation tier, [[EdChoice]] at the research tier, [[Institute for Justice]] at the legal tier — and **AFC at the political-enforcement tier**. AFC's job is to make universal ESAs a **litmus test for GOP primary survival** in state legislative races. Republican legislators who vote against universal ESAs face AFC-funded primary challengers in the next cycle. This is a different function than the Koch network's [[Americans for Prosperity]] (which runs broad *ground-game mobilization*) or Bradley Foundation's think-tank funding (which builds *intellectual scaffolding*). AFC is specifically the *intra-party enforcement mechanism* that converts GOP state-legislative majorities into *movement* majorities. ## Origin and Organizational Lineage - **Alliance for School Choice** (2004-2010) — the predecessor 501(c)(3), chaired by Betsy DeVos - **Advocates for School Choice** — another predecessor entity - **2010 merger:** Alliance + Advocates + affiliated PACs merged into the American Federation for Children, consolidating the research/advocacy nonprofit and the political-action infrastructure under one brand Betsy DeVos chaired AFC from its founding through 2016, when she resigned to prepare for Trump I. She returned to an advisory / de facto leadership role after January 2021. ## Political Record ### 2022 Cycle Spent approximately **$9M across state elections**, backing **nearly 200 candidates** (per NBC reporting). This was the cycle that established AFC's primary-threat model at scale. ### 2023 Wave Iowa (Reynolds-AFC alignment, Students First Scholarship); Arkansas (Sanders LEARNS Act); Utah (Utah Fits All); Ohio (EdChoice Expansion); Indiana (Choice Scholarship universalization); North Carolina (Opportunity Scholarship universal); Oklahoma (Parental Choice Tax Credit); Florida (Family Empowerment universal). **Seven universal-ESA victories in a single year.** ### 2024 Cycle - **Texas:** $1M+ spent in primary challenges against anti-voucher Republican state legislators. Paired with Gov. Abbott's personal focus and Koch network ground game. Resulted in primary defeats of several GOP holdout incumbents, which produced the majority that passed Texas's $1B universal ESA in 2025. - **Florida:** $1.7M cycle spend — DeSantis signed universal ESA expansion in the wake of the spending. - **Tennessee:** Spending tied to the Education Freedom Scholarship (2025 passage). ### 2025-2026 Universal ESA wins in Tennessee, Wyoming, and Texas (2025) extending the streak. Active spending in Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, and New Hampshire holdout fights. ## Personnel - **Tommy Schultz:** CEO since 2022. Previously AFC's chief policy officer. Under his leadership, AFC shifted from "run general-election ads in competitive districts" to "run primary challenges against anti-voucher Republican incumbents" — the doctrinal shift that made 2023-2025 universal ESA waves possible. - **[[Betsy DeVos]]:** Founder; chair 2010-2016 and again in advisory form after January 2021. The de facto movement leader behind AFC's strategy. - **[[Corey DeAngelis]]:** Senior fellow until October 2024, when he was fired following disclosure of an adult-film personal history that emerged online. Recovered at [[Heritage Foundation]]'s Center for Education Policy in February 2026 as a research fellow. ## Funding AFC's funders include the [[Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation]], the Walton Family Foundation, the [[Bradley Foundation]], and [[DonorsTrust]]-routed anonymous contributions. Betsy DeVos has personally committed at least $2.5M of her own money to AFC-related activity, with multiples more flowing through the broader family foundation network. ## Relationship to Trump II AFC-aligned staff populate the [[Department of Education]] under Secretary [[Linda McMahon]]. The Project 2025 education chapter framework is substantially aligned with AFC's policy priorities. The 2025 Education Freedom Tax Credit (federal) is effectively the federalization of the AFC-promoted state-level tax-credit scholarship model. ## Strategic Distinctive AFC's strategic innovation — making universal ESAs a **GOP primary litmus test** — is being studied by other right-wing advocacy organizations as a template for converting donor-class policy preferences into state-legislative reality. Expect replication across issue areas: immigration, gender policy, abortion. The AFC model is likely the most influential single school of state-legislative advocacy of the 2020s. ## See Also - [[School Choice Ecosystem]] - [[DeVos Family Ecosystem]] - [[Betsy DeVos]] - [[Dick DeVos]] - [[Corey DeAngelis]] - [[Linda McMahon]] - [[School Choice]] - [[Project 2025]] - [[EdChoice]] - [[Heritage Foundation]] - [[Bradley Foundation]]