EDUCATION POLICY SPOTLIGHT | K-12 Policies in the Era of Trump
The Potential Impact of the Trump Administration on K-12 Schools
By Stephanie Clagnaz, Ed.D.
“My mother made us stop coming to school. She’s afraid that we’ll be taken by ICE and deported. If he takes us, we won’t see our mother again. All we want is a chance to have a better life. It’s not safe for us at home. The gangs kill you in the street.”
8th grade student, Long Island, NY
“Since the election, we’ve seen an uptick in kids dropping out. We were trying to get them ready for the January Regents, but they’re scared to come to school because they think they’ll be rounded up and deported.”
ENL Coordinator, Bronx, NY
Threats of massive deportation of immigrants, particularly children in our K-12 schools, is causing mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, in children across the nation. Prior to convicted felon and newly elected United States President Donald J. Trump’s inauguration, schools have reported that students are fearful of being separated from family members and of being forced to leave the United States. For children who are undocumented or have family members who are in the same situation, the incoming administration’s promise to deport millions of people has induced fear, feelings of isolation, and even death among young children and their families. Reports of students leaving schools to hide from immigration officials and even dropping out of school so they can’t be found are becoming more common. The mental health of immigrant students is on the decline; unusual levels of stress and despair have become commonplace as a result of the incoming president’s threats. This is only one of the fear-mongering policies that Trump has put into play. But there are also other ways that the incoming administration may negatively impact schools. Let’s take a look at some of them.
Abolishing the Federal Department of Education
Is it possible for Trump to demolish the Federal Department of Education? Yes. Some speculate that he may garner more favor with his supporters by focusing his attention on other promised policies, such as tax incentives for the rich and tariffs on imported goods and services. Trump and his supporters favor dismantling the federal education department, claiming that more authority should be given to individual states. Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education is a possibility, but will require approval of Congress to make it happen. It is questionable as to whether Trump will use political capital on eliminating the federal DOE. Trump’s rhetoric about abolishing the Department of Education is not new. Republicans have tried to do away with the Department many times throughout their history in power. Former President Ronald Regan attempted to abolish the department and Trump made another failed attempt during his first presidential term.
Reducing or Eliminating Needed Funding to K-12 Schools
Trump’s administration also has the potential to reduce or even cut sorely needed funding to K-12 schools. Although approximately 90% of school funding comes from state and local sources which Trump cannot control, schools will be negatively impacted by reduced or eliminated additional funding afforded by federal government grants. The Federal DOE oversees Title I funding, which provides additional funds to schools and districts who serve low income students and Title III funding, which serves English language learners. Further, the department administers the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), providing schools with additional financial support for students with disabilities. Project 2025, a document produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation, which Trump has attempted to distance himself from, lays the roadway for the incoming administration’s policies. If implemented, the plan has the potential to reduce federal grant funding to schools that do not follow their policies. Most of these grants, however, have bipartisan congressional support, so cutting or reducing them may not materialize.
Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and Title IX Protections
Another important function of the Federal Department of Education is to ensure that schools and districts comply with civil rights laws, monitoring fair and equal treatment of students with disabilities and students of color. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) collects data on school discipline and safety, and bars discrimination on the basis of sex, race, religion, and disability. The incoming administration has the potential to use some of the data to monitor and attempt to reduce Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts. Title IX, which bars sex discrimination in federally funded schools, is also under attack. The Biden administration policy, which protected students on the basis of sexual orientation and gender expression, was recently blocked by a Kentucky federal judge. Trump has been overt in his criticism of current Title IX policies and has promised to eliminate them completely. If he attempts this, it will surely be met with lengthy legal battles.
Threatened Changes to School Curriculum: “Patriotic” Curricula and DEI Efforts
Trump has indicated that he will take steps to ensure that schools are teaching a “patriotic” curriculum and will reduce diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts as a part of his imposed “culture wars”. Some states have, in fact, put restrictions into law regarding the ways in which teachers can discuss race, racism, and gender identity in classrooms and books that may or may not be read. There are also discussions about banning Critical Race Theory (CRT) being taught in schools, which is nothing more than another attempt at inducing fear. Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan confirms that Trump's threats about reducing funding to schools and districts that “teach DEI or CRT” is simply a fear-mongering strategy that has no basis in reality. The Federal Department of Education, in fact, has no authority to make decisions regarding curriculum as the reauthorization of the Every Student Succeeds Act forbids the federal government from controlling state or local curricula, standards, and assessments and also dictates that grant or funding opportunities cannot be tied to any specific curricula.
Incompetent and Inexperienced Cabinet Picks
In one of his first moves, Trump appointed billionaire professional wrestling entertainment mogul Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education despite the fact that she has virtually no experience in education. Many believe that she is uninterested in the appointment, having desired to be appointed to lead the Department of Commerce. In addition to McMahon, if Trump’s appointment of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as the head of the Department of Health and Human Services meets with approval, school lunch programs may be changing. Kennedy’s agenda, Make America Healthy Again, will attempt to eliminate processed foods from school lunches. Corporate lobbyists will likely fight this effort in order to keep their companies’ foods as part of the typical school lunch. Also at stake are free lunch programs, which Trump and his supporters will attempt to damage through funding eligibility changes. It remains to be seen as to whether either candidate will survive the confirmation process, especially Kennedy.
Expanding Options for School Choice and School Vouchers
Republicans have long favored vouchers and other programs that provide families with funding to choose private school education programs. According to an Education Week analysis, 28 states currently have some private school choice programs in place. The programs range from school vouchers to cover tuition to private schools to tax incentives, such as allowing families to use 529 college savings accounts to fund private school tuition. Some of these programs have gained positive traction in Congress in recent years, and may likely expand during the next few years. Tax benefits to organizations that donate to scholarships for private school tuition have also become a popular option. However, the Republican-led Congress will need to gather widespread support for school choice programs to increase in popularity. Three states, including predominantly Republican Kentucky and Nebraska, voted against school choice measures in the 2024 election, as Arizona has done in the past, giving credence to the thought that expanded school choice will be met with resistance.
Although it is painful to say for the country as a whole, Trump’s priorities outside of the education world, such as tariffs on foreign goods and services, withdrawal from NATO, threats of war, acquisitions of foreign lands, and deportation of deserving immigrants may overpower any attempts that his administration attempts to make over education realistically moot. The amount of political capital Trump will need to make the drastic changes to education that he has threatened may fall under the radar considering the work it will take to gain congressional and popular support to move his overall right-wing agenda forward.
Political experts believe that during Trump’s upcoming presidential term, he may be able to reduce the power of the department, sending more education decision-making to individual states or even distributing some education programs to different departments within the federal government. But as Dean of USC Rossier School of Education, Dr. Pedro Noguera, an education and equity icon suggests, if a move is made to eliminate the department completely, Linda McMahon will find herself in “a fight reminiscent of the rumbles she no doubt enjoyed watching in the wrestling ring.” And as Noguera suggests, if there is any move to eliminate the Department completely, “let’s get ready to rumble.”
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