To anyone who follows politics, it’s no secret that Trump and the Republican party have held a long standing goal of dismantling the Department of Education to give states more control over education. Though education wasn’t one of Trump’s main issues on the campaign trail, himself, along with the authors of Project 2025, a conservative agenda, have made it clear they plan to dismantle the Department of Education.
In chapter seven of Trump’s “Agenda 47” he vows that “Republicans [will] offer a plan to cultivate great K-12 schools, ensure safe learning environments free from political meddling, and restore Parental Rights. We commit to an Education System that empowers students, supports families, and promotes American Values. Our Education System must prepare students for successful lives and well-paying jobs.” This statement sounds great but as most political statements do, it has many details that come along with it.
The Trump administration has said that the way to create “safe learning environments free from political meddling” is by giving “highly trained teachers” concealed weapons in the classroom. This could also result in veterans and other armed guards in schools to protect students from violence. The Trump Administration has named this as their solution to school gun violence as they firmly oppose restricting people’s ability to buy a gun, or restricting access to one. This is in contrast to many Democrats’ desire to put restrictions on guns.
His administration has also made it clear that creating “learning environments free from political meddling” would result in “[cutting] federal funding for schools that teach ‘critical race theory’ or ‘gender ideology’,” according to Agenda 47 and the Minnesota Reformer. While Trump and many of his supporters see this as an extremely positive step, ending “left-wing propaganda” education, others critique it as they argue critical race theory is essential. The UCLA Law Review states, “to get rid of racism, to get rid of Anti-Asian, Anti-Black, Anti-Brown, Anti-Arab, Anti-Indigenous violence we must teach about the historical and contemporary racial injustice that our communities have experienced and fought against”.
While Trump is adamant in dismantling the Department of Education, a New York Times article titled “Could Trump Shut Down the Department of Education?” made it clear the likelihood of this happening is low, as “any effort to close the department would have to go through Congress. Lawmakers would have to vote to disband the agency, a highly unlikely proposition.” While Trump may be unable to close the Department of Education, he will seek to overturn a new Title IX provision (that Biden signed in April and went into effect in August of 2024) to advance his youth policy. The Title IX provision is one which widens “the scope of the law’s prohibition on sex discrimination so it also applies to discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity”, according to Education Weekly.
Donald Trump has run on these ideas and other policies which will alter the education system. Trump will attempt to move more people towards private education and in his own words, turn “all education work and needs back to the states.” That said, it is important to note that school curriculum is not centralized in the United States, and states are responsible for public school curriculum, though there are aspects such as policy which the federal government does control. While no one is certain what Trump could accomplish in his second term, his administration certainly has high expectations.
