WASHINGTON – that of Donald Trump The vision for education revolves around a single goal: ridding American schools of “ awakening » and “left-wing indoctrination”.

The president-elect wants to keep transgender athletes outside of women’s sport. He wants to ban classroom lessons on gender identity and structural racism. He wants to abolish diversity and inclusion offices.

Throughout his campaign, the Republican presented the school as a political battleground to be reconquered by the left. Now that he’s won the White House, he plans to use federal money as leverage to move forward. his vision of education across the country.

Trump’s education plan pledges to cut funding to schools that defy him on a host of issues.

On his first day in office, Trump repeatedly said he would cut funding to “any school that promotes critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content about our children.” On the campaign trail, Trump said he “wouldn’t give a dime” to schools requiring vaccines or masks.

He has said this would be done through executive action, although some of his supporters say he lacks the authority to make such rapid and sweeping changes.

Trump’s opponents say his view of America’s schools is distorted by politics — that the kind of liberal indoctrination he rails against is fiction. They say his proposals will undermine public education and harm students who need school services the most.

“This is non-factual information based on fear, and I would call it propaganda,” said Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president of Education Trust, a research and advocacy organization. “There is no evidence that students are taught to question their sexuality in schools. There is no evidence that our American education system is full of maniacs. »

Trump’s agenda calls for “massive funding preferences” for states and schools that end teacher tenure and enact universal measures. school choice programs and allow parents to elect school principals.

Perhaps his most ambitious promise is to completely shut down the U.S. Department of Education, a goal of conservative politicians for decades, claiming it has been infiltrated by “radicals.”

America’s K-12 public schools derive about 14% of their revenue from the federal government, primarily from programs targeting low-income students and special education. The vast majority of school money comes from local taxes and state governments.

Colleges are more dependent on federal money, especially grants and loans the government allows students to pay their tuition fees.

Trump’s most powerful tool for putting school money on the line is his authority to enforce civil rights – the Department of Education has the power to cut federal funding for schools and colleges that fail to comply with civil rights laws.

The president cannot immediately withdraw money from a large number of districts, but if he targets a few through civil rights investigationsothers are likely to follow their lead, said Bob Eitel, president of the conservative Defense of Freedom Institute and an education official during Trump’s first term. This authority could be used to sue schools and colleges that have diversity and inclusion offices or those accused of anti-SemitismEitel said.

“This is not a loss of funding from day one,” Eitel said, referring to Trump’s campaign promise. “But ultimately the president will prevail on this issue, because I think there are real legal issues.”

Trump also hinted at potential legislation to fulfill some of his promises, including fining universities for diversity initiatives.

To get universities to shut down their diversity programs — which Trump said amounts to discrimination — he said he would “propose a measure to have them fined the full amount of their endowment” .

His platform also calls for a new free online university called American Academy, which would be funded by “taxing, fining, and suing the excessively large endowments of private universities.”

During his first term, Trump sometimes threatened to cut off funds from schools that defied him, including those that were slow to reopen during the COVID-19 pandemic and colleges he accused of restrict freedom of expression.

Most of the threats came to nothing, although he managed to convince Congress to add a tax on wealthy college endowments and his Department of Education made sweeping changes to the rules regarding education . sexual assault on campus.

Universities are hoping their relationship with the administration won’t be as antagonistic as Trump’s rhetoric suggests.

“Education has been an easy target during election season,” said Peter McDonough, general counsel for the American Council on Education, an association of college presidents. “But a partnership between higher education and administration will be better for the country than an attack on education.”

Trump’s threats of tough sanctions appear to contradict another of his education pillars: getting the federal government out of schools. In closing the Department of Education, Trump said he would return “all educational work and needs to the states.”

“We are going to end education in Washington, D.C.,” Trump said on his website last year. In his program, he pledged to ensure that schools were “free from political interference.”

Rather than letting states and schools decide where they stand on polarizing issues, Trump is proposing blanket bans that fit his vision.

Taking a neutral stance and letting states decide would not fulfill Trump’s campaign promises, said Max Eden, a senior fellow at the AEI, a conservative think tank. For example, Trump is considering rescinding directives from President Joe Biden’s administration that Expanded Title IX Protections for LGBTQ+ Students. And Trump would go further, promising a national ban on transgender women in women’s sports.

“Trump has worked to keep boys away from women’s sports. He didn’t want to let boys play girls’ sports in blue states if they wanted to,” Eden said.

Trump also wants a say in school curricula, pledging to fight for “patriotic” education. He promised to reinstate his Commission of 1776which he created in 2021 to promote patriotic education. The panel produced a report that called progressivism a “challenge to American principles” alongside fascism.

In addition to this effort, Trump is proposing a new certification body to certify teachers “who adhere to patriotic values.”

Few of his biggest education goals can be achieved quickly, and many of them would require further action by Congress or federal processes that typically take months.

More immediately, he plans to rescind executive orders issued by Biden, including one promoting racial equity in the federal government. He should also work quickly to revoke or rewrite Biden’s Title IX rules, although finalizing those changes would require a longer regulatory process.

Trump did not detail his student loan plansalthough he called Biden’s cancellation proposals illegal and unfair.

Most of Biden’s signature education initiatives have been put on hold by the courts over legal challenges, including a widespread education proposal. loan cancellation and a more generous loan repayment plan. These plans could be revoked or rewritten once Trump takes office.

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