In his broadest attempt yet to directly influence what schools teach, President Donald Trump on Wednesday issued an executive order mandating that administration officials develop plans to eliminate federal funds for schools that he says indoctrinate kids based on 鈥済ender ideology鈥� and 鈥渄iscriminatory equity ideology.鈥�
The order also reinstates Trump鈥檚 1776 Commission, which the president created in his first term to promote 鈥減atriotic education,鈥� but was disbanded in the Biden administration.
The order was one of two affecting K-12 schools issued Wednesday; another that the president signed presses federal agencies to expand school choice options, allowing taxpayer funds to be used for private education.
The order concerning indoctrination in schools follows pledges Trump made on the campaign trail to end federal funding for schools teaching 鈥渃ritical race theory"鈥攁n academic theory that some conservatives have used to describe teaching on race and racism. The executive order cites a number of unfounded claims Trump has made in recent years alleging that schools are taking part in widespread ideological indoctrination of students and that they鈥檙e forcing students to question their gender identity.
The executive order directs the secretaries of education, defense, and health and human services to work with the U.S. attorney general on an 鈥渆nding indoctrination strategy鈥� by examining funding streams and penning a plan that eliminates funding for schools that have any K-12 curriculum, instruction, or program that 鈥渄irectly or indirectly support or subsidize the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology.鈥�
Funds that support teacher education, certification, licensing, and training are also included in the measure.
The order asserts that schools teach students to 鈥渁dopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics鈥� and are 鈥渕ade to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed.鈥�
It asks the agency heads to outline their processes for rescinding federal funds to schools that 鈥渄irectly or indirectly鈥� support students鈥� gender transitions鈥攊ncluding referring to students by names or pronouns that may differ from their sex assigned at birth and not informing their parents. That issue has been the subject of heated debate in school board meetings and state legislatures in the past several years and is also being litigated in various courts.
It also directs the attorney general to work with state and local district attorneys to prosecute K-12 teachers and school officials who 鈥渦nlawfully facilitat[e] the social transition of a minor student.鈥�
Trump鈥檚 early actions affecting schools have been far-reaching
Trump has been laying the groundwork in the opening days of his second term to put his stamp on the nation鈥檚 schools, despite the federal government鈥檚 traditionally limited influence over them. The federal government typically supplies less than 10 percent of public school funding nationwide, and it is prohibited from dictating what schools teach.
But Trump has harnessed the federal education bureaucracy in the first days of his second term to enact his agenda, signing earlier executive orders that target federal diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as protections for LGBTQ+ students.
The latest executive order drew immediate pushback from activists.
鈥淭his order is a thinly veiled attempt to suppress any teaching about race or racism,鈥� said Trey Walk, a researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch, an organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. 鈥�69传媒 have a right to learn about how discrimination can be entrenched in law and society. If the United States denies young people this knowledge it has little hope of eradicating racism.鈥�
Republicans have sought to restrict classroom discussions of 鈥榙ivisive topics鈥�
Critical race theory, an academic concept that is more than 40 years old, has been at the center of bills in state legislatures for the last four years, with the framework often being conflated with all diversity and inclusion efforts, and any mention of race in the classroom. Critics argue it leads to negative dynamics, such as a focus on group identity over universal, shared traits; divides people into 鈥渙ppressed鈥� and 鈥渙ppressor鈥� groups; and urges intolerance鈥攁ll themes Trump echoed in his executive order.
While Trump and other Republicans have charged consistently that schools are using critical race theory to indoctrinate students to believe the United States is a racist nation, there鈥檚 little evidence such indoctrination is happening on a wide scale.
An EdWeek Research Center Survey found in 2021 that just 8 percent of teachers said they had taught or even discussed critical race theory with their K-12 students. A study released this month found that high school students confirm that most schools aren鈥檛 teaching a one-sided portrayal of the nation鈥檚 politics and history, but that their teachers still grapple with discussing controversial topics in class. And a sweeping report last year from the American Historical Association found teachers mostly said they try to develop students鈥� historical thinking skills鈥攖eaching them how to think, not what to think.
The 1776 Commission is Trump鈥檚 answer to what he鈥檚 considered misleading teaching about race and racism in America鈥檚 history and present, particularly after widespread protests and unrest about racial injustice in 2020.
When Trump announced the commission that year, he directed its members to produce a report on 鈥渢he core principles of America鈥檚 founding鈥� within one year. Its culminating report argued that the rise of identity politics, and a nefarious 鈥渂itterness鈥� about the country鈥檚 founding and its seminal events, have distorted perceptions about the nation. It stayed away from imposing demands on what schools taught, however. On his first day in office, President Joe Biden revoked the order forming the commission.
Trump has taken aim at DEI and protections for LGBTQ+ students
Just a few weeks into his second term, Trump and his administration have rolled out numerous orders that have reverberated in schools鈥攖aking particular aim at how agencies grapple with race and gender, using purse strings as the cudgel.
Through one order, Trump ended diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in federal agencies. The U.S. Department of Education followed suit by placing career staffers leading such programming on paid administrative leave, ending all related training, and removing hundreds of resources from the website.
The department鈥檚 office for civil rights quickly took up the president鈥檚 vision in enforcing the nation鈥檚 civil rights laws: officials there dismissed complaints about book challenges, and eliminated a position the Biden administration created that helped school districts navigate such challenges.
In a break from precedent, the department also announced it had opened a civil rights investigation of a gender-neutral bathroom at a Denver high school, aligning with Trump鈥檚 order that defined sex as 鈥渕ale and female鈥� and rolled back the Biden administration鈥檚 Title IX regulations that expanded the law鈥檚 protections to cover discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Typically, the department鈥檚 office for civil rights announces when it has completed an investigation into a claim, not when it opens a new probe.
Earlier this week, the Office of Management and Budget also announced it would freeze federal funds to make sure agencies aligned with Trump鈥檚 vision and orders, asking departments, in part, if the dollars supported DEI or 鈥済ender ideology.鈥�
