WASHINGTON – Donald Trump’s return to the presidency could set the stage for radical changes in American education policy.
Throughout his campaign, Trump vowed to “save American education,” focusing on parental rights and universal school choice, a edged contrast to the Biden administration’s educational achievements.
With Trump’s White House victory cemented, here’s his stance on education:
Getting rid of the US Department of Education
Perhaps Trump’s most far-reaching education plan includes a vow to shut down the U.S. Department of Education.
The faculty, which is only 45 years venerable, is not responsible for setting curriculum because education in the United States is decentralized. The agency mission is to “promote student achievement and prepare them for global competitiveness by supporting educational excellence and ensuring equitable access.”
Trump has repeatedly called for moving education “back to the states,” even though responsibility for education already rests primarily with states and local governments, which devote most of the funding to K-12 schools.
Increases financing
Trump has proposed increased funding for states and school districts that align with his vision for education, including adopting a “Parents’ Bill of Rights that includes full curriculum transparency and a form of universal school choice.” according to his plan.
He also wants to give funding preferences to schools that get rid of “teacher tenure” for grades K-12 and adopt “merit pay.”
He could also raise funding for schools where parents directly elect principals, as well as schools where the number of administrators is significantly reduced.
Trump’s plan also includes creating a certification body that will certify teachers “who share patriotic values and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children, but to educate them.”
He is too threatening to cut federal funding for schools that teach “critical race theory” or “gender ideology” and promised to roll back updated Title IX regulations under Biden on the first day he returns to office.
Updated regulations the Biden administration released earlier this year expand federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.
The final rule rolls back Title IX changes made under the previous Trump administration and then-Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Many GOP-led states challenged the measure, leading to several legal battles and a patchwork of policies across the country.
Student debt and higher education
Trump criticized the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness efforts, calling them “even illegal” and may abandon any mass student loan forgiveness efforts.
Trump could repeal the administration’s Savings for Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, which is currently on hold due to a legal dispute. This wide-ranging initiative aims to provide lower monthly loan repayments for borrowers and reduce the time it takes to pay off debt.
Meanwhile, GOP platform 2024 called for making colleges and universities “sound and affordable,” noting that Republicans would “fire Radical Left accreditors, lower tuition costs, restore due process protections, and pursue civil rights cases against discriminatory schools.”
The platform also calls for lowering the cost of higher education by creating “additional, dramatically cheaper alternatives to the traditional four-year college degree.”
Trump also suggested “American Academy,” a free online university that it claims will be funded by “billions of dollars we raise through taxation, fines, and suing over-donations from private universities.”
Project 2025
In addition to the GOP platform and Trump’s proposals, the Heritage Foundation’s 2025 Project proposes a broad conservative agenda that, if implemented, could have solemn consequences for the future of education.
Although Trump has disavowed the conservative think tank’s plan, some former members of his previous administration helped develop the program.
Some of the educational policy proposals presented in extensive document include eliminating the U.S. Department of Education and Head Start, ending time- and occupation-based student loan forgiveness, and restoring Title IX regulations issued under DeVos.
The proposal also states that “the federal government should limit its involvement in education policy to that of a statistics-collecting agency that disseminates information to states.”
Principal Teachers Unions React to Trump’s Victory
“The voters have spoken. While we hoped and fought for a different outcome, we respect both their will and the peaceful transition of power,” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, one of the nation’s largest teachers unions, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Right now, the country is more divided than ever and our democracy is at risk. Last night we saw the victory of fear and anger,” Weingarten said.
Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, the nation’s largest labor union, said in a statement Wednesday that “this is not the outcome we sought or the future we wanted for our students and families, but it is a journey through history we must travel now.” ”
Last updated at 16:38, November 6, 2024
