Dismantling the Department of Education? Trump’s plan for schools in his second term

Former President Donald Trump — now projected to be the next president of the United States — has proposed sweeping reform for the nation’s educational systems.

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

Department of Education

Trump’s Agenda47 campaign proposed eliminating the Department of Education — which, according to the DOE website, “establishes policy for, administers and coordinates most federal assistance to education.”

The DOE, established by President Jimmy Carter, provides programs such as Title I funding for low-achieving or high-poverty K-12 schools in need of support, as well as Pell Grants for undergraduate students in high financial need.

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

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

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

Content restrictions

Trump’s campaign has outlined a plan that features prayer in public schools, an expansion of parental rights in education, patriotism as a centerpiece of education and an emphasis on the “American Way of Life.”

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

Similar policies and rhetoric against school content concerning race, gender, sex and more have coincided with the removal of more than 10,000 books from library shelves over the 2023-2024 school year, according to the free-expression advocacy group PEN America.

Trump has also suggested that he would create a new credentialing body to certify teachers “who embrace patriotic values and support the American Way of Life” and reinstate his administration’s 1776 Commission to align the teaching of history with the “values” of the founding of the United States — though Agenda47 does not elaborate further on what such values are or define the criteria for embracing the “American Way of Life.”

School choice

Trump also backs nationwide universal school choice programs, which allow a student’s allotment of public education funds to be transferred to nonpublic schooling 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 kind of school choice.

Teacher pay and tenure

Trump’s Agenda47 also anticipates an end to teacher tenure laws. These laws are described by the United Federation of Teachers as state laws that prevent a school district from dismissing a tenured teacher without due process. Most states have tenure laws in place; however, at least 10 states have zero or limited tenure laws, according to the National Education Association.

He also said he will adopt a merit pay for teachers. Some studies have shown that merit pay programs improve student outcomes, but critics argue there is not enough evidence and that various factors impact student performance — including funding and resource inequity.

Higher education

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