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President Trump started his 2nd term by signing executive orders aimed at undermining the country’s public education system.
On January 29th, Trump signed two executive orders focused on K-12 education, one that would redirect federal public school funds to private schools, and one that aims to eliminate “radical indoctrination” in schools.
The first executive order directed the Department of Education to issue guidance on how states can use existing federal funding to support private school voucher programs. It would likely be difficult to make any major changes to education funding without Congress, since the largest education funding programs are controlled by statue. It is unclear how much the Administration will push its power or how this executive order will impact existing federal funding for public schools.
This first executive order also directs federal agencies to take action to expand school choice. It directs the Department of Defense and the Department of Interior to create plans for expanding school choice and directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create guidance on how federal child care funding can be used for private and religious options. It also requires the Secretary of Education and Secretary of Labor to make recommendations for using discretionary grant programs to pay for alternatives to public schools.
The second executive order would eliminate federal funds for schools that teach “radical indoctrination,” such as “gender ideology” and “discriminatory equity ideology.” The order claims that teaching about “unconscious bias” or “white privilege” promotes racial discrimination.
Unfortunately, the immediate impact of this order is that it will likely spark questions and fear across schools about whether teaching accurate American history could jeopardize federal funding.
As a result, many schools are likely to minimize discussion of discrimination in our country’s history. It is deeply concerning that students will be restricted in learning about topics that continue to negatively impact our country, such as racism. For example, according to RAND study from May 2023, White Americans hold ten times more total wealth than Black Americans. This enormous discrepancy results from factors such as discriminatory housing practices, employment discrimination, and disparities in the likelihood of receiving inherited wealth. If schools stop teaching history in an accurate way, students will be less informed and ill-prepared to fight against inequity.
In practice, this executive order will be difficult to implement. Under nondiscrimination laws, the Office for Civil Rights would have to investigate any allegation, find a violation, and confirm that the school is refusing to address the violation. Schools also would have an opportunity to appeal any funding termination.
President Trump also uses this executive order to re-establish his 1776 Commission on Promoting Patriotic Education, which was terminated by the Biden Administration. During Trump’s first term, the American Historical Association published a statement calling the commission “a simplistic interpretation that relies on falsehoods, inaccuracies, omissions, and misleading statements.”
Events & Resources for Action
The Education Law Center published a Trump 2.0 Federal Revenue Tool that shows the projected funding and job losses if lawmakers cut federal education funding.
The National Education Association has a resource page dedicated to protecting public schools. The page offers a link to contact Congress to push back against executive overreach and to learn more about the impact of the executive orders on public schools.