Dissolution of the Ministry of Education? Trump’s plan for schools in his second term

President-elect Donald Trump has proposed a sweeping reform of the country’s education system.

Here’s a look at what areas of education his second term could impact:

Ministry of Education

Trump’s Agenda47 campaign proposed abolishing the Department of Education, which, according to the DOE website, “sets, administers, and coordinates the policies for most federal aid to education.”

The DOE, founded by President Jimmy Carter, provides programs such as Title I funding for low-performing or high-poverty K-12 schools in need of assistance, and Pell Grants for undergraduate students in great financial need.

During Trump’s first presidency, he proposed billions of dollars in cuts to the Department of Education.

In a campaign video, Trump said he wanted states — not the federal government — to have control over schools.

However, he has also outlined plans to further restrict content or classroom discussions in schools based on guidelines that would be implemented at the federal level.

Content restrictions

Trump’s campaign has outlined a plan that includes prayer in public schools, an expansion of parental rights in education, patriotism at the core of education and an emphasis on the American way of life.

He has also called for dismantling diversity initiatives in education and cutting federal funding for schools or programs that contain “critical race theory, gender ideology or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.” Republican-backed legislation across the country has similarly sought to restrict these topics, and the efforts have been criticized as vague and leading to “censorship” in schools and classrooms on topics such as race, gender and politics.

According to free speech advocacy group PEN America, similar policies and rhetoric against school content related to race, sex, gender and more coincided with the removal of more than 10,000 books from library shelves in the 2023-2024 school year.

Trump has also proposed creating a new certification body to certify teachers “who represent patriotic values ​​and support the American way of life” and reinstating his administration’s 1776 commission to align history teaching with “values.” the founding of the American Way of Life in the United States – although Agenda47 does not elaborate on what such values ​​are or define the criteria for adopting the American Way of Life.

School choice

Trump also supports nationwide universal school choice programs that allow a student to transfer a portion of public education funds to nonpublic school options — including private schools or homeschooling.

This comes as voters in three states – Nebraska, Kentucky and Colorado – have rejected efforts to codify or expand this type of school choice.

Pay and employment of teachers

Trump’s Agenda47 also calls for an end to teacher hiring laws. These laws are described by the United Federation of Teachers as state laws that prevent a school district from firing a tenured teacher without due process. Most states have ownership laws. However, at least ten states have no or limited tenure laws, according to the National Education Association.

He also said he would introduce performance-related pay for teachers. Some studies have shown that performance-based compensation programs improve student outcomes. But critics argue that there is not enough evidence and that a variety of factors impact student achievement – ​​including funding and resource inequality.

Higher education

Trump’s higher education agenda includes creating a new, free university called the American Academy and funding it by “taxing, fining and suing” private universities.