An Overview of Education-related Executive Actions signed by President Trump
President Trump’s education executive actions may have large implications for federal programs and teachers.
ARYAN GARG
Trump Signs Executive Orders, Hechinger Report 2025
On January 20th, 2025, President Trump rescinded 78 executive orders approved under the previous administration and directed 26 new executive actions. Of the orders rescinded, several involved federal regulations on public schools. Since 2000, there has been an unprecedented increase in the use of executive power, whether through pardons or through executive orders in order to bypass the process of approving legislation via Congress or challenge the judicial process. This has been seen with both Biden and Trump’s administrations where both passed significantly more executive orders on their first day than their predecessors.
Trump’s executive orders do not narrow down to focus on one particular issue. The executive orders he has signed affect the federal government and the Department of Education, both in entirety or by proxy.There has already been discussion about the legality of his executive orders by legislators in Washington, with critics generally arguing that these orders are an act of executive overreach, while proponents argue that his orders give policymaking and enforcing rights to the states while increasing the cost-efficiency of the federal government.
The Trump administration has moved large numbers of federal employees to “Schedule F,” a classification which allows for these federal employees to be fired by the Trump administration. This will affect around 50,000, if not more, employees, including 4,000 Department of Education employees. The firing of these employees may additionally be at risk due to the possibility of the Department of Education being abolished altogether. Such a move would require bipartisan support, with Republicans and Democrats in Congress collaborating to find a compromise. Both parties on Capitol Hill find it quite unlikely that this collaboration will actually happen. However, this is not the only way that the Department of Education’s power may be limited. Tim Walberg, the Chairman of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, claims that it is likely that power will be moved from the Department of Education to other agencies, or the states themselves. Critics, such as Melanie Stansburg, say that these moves would take away federal rights from 7.5 million disability-protected students, while proponents argue that similar enforcement and protections would still be granted by the states, who could regulate more efficiently than the government could.
Another recent executive order instituted includes a hiring freeze at all federal agencies for 90 days, preventing the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) from hiring, as well as a large number of other agencies. A separate executive order mandates that all Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs should end, affecting all departments under the executive branch as well as certain private entities working with the federal government. Already, the Department of Education is complying, by archiving hundreds of documents with DEI training, or reports on DEI. Additionally, the Department of Education has placed a significant amount of its staff which implemented DEI initiatives in the past on paid administrative leave, and even disbanded the Diversity and Inclusion Council within the civil rights office. Critics argue that DEI is essential to the Department of Education, while proponents of the executive actions argue that DEI doesn’t lead to merit-based systems and these programs involve wasteful spending.
Other executive orders, as well as policies which Trump aims to endorse in the future, seek to undo Biden administration efforts. For example, the Biden Administration previously aimed to extend Title IX protections, and particularly protections for biological females, to transgender students. Trump’s executive order defining sex as male or female and prohibiting discrimination based on these two sexes directly clashes with previous protections. This order will make it so that the Department of Education has to apply Title IX based on the “two sex” definition. Many legislators are concerned that this would take away rights for transgender students while the Trump Administration argues that schools have to adhere to the protections based on biological sex which Title IX initially intended.
Ultimately, it is a time of change for not just the education system and the policies which govern it, but for the country itself. Whether you, reader, agree or disagree with these changes, it is important to understand that every citizen plays an active role in the democracy of our country. Every citizen is able to advocate, not just in a personal sphere of influence, but for elected representatives, senators, board members, and for governors to influence policy. Every citizen is able to educate themselves from a variety of online news sources, and every citizen is able to, and should, have civil discussions about such policies, especially with those who have conflicting, or unique viewpoints. I strongly encourage you, as a reader, and as someone who is interested in education policy, to do so.
Saphron Initiative staff and guest contributors often express their views in pieces on Edisco. These pieces do not constitute an organizational endorsement of the viewpoints within. Our goal is to encourage and uplift student voices and we respect diverse opinions. We encourage all readers to conduct further research and develop informed opinions on the issues discussed.
