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More than attend public schools in the United States, and they have all been thrust into the center of President Donald Trump鈥檚 regressive agenda as he moves to use . Critics contend his attacks on public education will hurt disabled students, LGBTQ students, students of color, and those from low-income households the most.聽

鈥淲hat鈥檚 coming out of Washington鈥攊t鈥檚 whiplash-inducing and tragic,鈥� says one California middle school and high school history teacher who spoke anonymously for fear of being targeted. 鈥淭o me, the message [has been] that education is unimportant and the needs of students [are] unimportant.鈥�

The Trump administration鈥檚 highest-profile attack on public education came on March 20, 2025, when the president directing Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to begin dismantling the Department of Education. While the president needs congressional approval to abolish the department, to his supporters, this executive order is the next best thing. 

Gutting the Department of Education has been a , as conservative groups such as the Heritage Foundation, which penned Trump鈥檚 Project 2025 playbook, is a seedbed of liberal-left social and political action. Over the last several years, Republican administrators and politicians on the state and local levels have or legislation to censor teachers, ban books, and for marginalized students.聽

The adoption of this regressive agenda on the federal level will have even farther-reaching effects. Changes to funding will have an immediate impact on how students nationwide access education鈥攐r if they can access it at all. This is because the Department of Education provides crucial funding for public K鈥�12 schools, focusing on districts with the greatest need for support and narrowing gaps between needed resources and state and local revenue.

The department also provides dedicated support to low-income children through and to disabled students under the (IDEA), which is meant to guarantee that disabled kids have equal access to public education.

Trump鈥檚 order to dismantle the Department of Education claims that state governments can take over federal responsibilities, but experts warn this could lead to no longer receiving the funding needed to serve students. 鈥淎bsent the Department of Education to ensure fairness in funding allocation for programs like Title I, it鈥檚 unclear how states will handle the disbursement on their own, which could widen inequalities in education,鈥� explains Hilary Wething, an economist at the . Advocates have also begun over protections and funding provided under IDEA being under threat.

The Trump administration鈥檚 anti-education agenda will not only strip students of vital resources; experts also warn that dismantling the Department of Education will undermine its ability to vital to addressing inequalities in education. Already, several of the department鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights (OCR) . The OCR is meant to enforce civil rights laws at public schools and all colleges and universities that receive federal financial assistance. It does so through investigations and compliance reviews.聽

However, as the Trump administration reduces staff and seeks to reorient the OCR, the office will no longer be able to perform these functions. related to disability access and sexual and racial harassment have already been placed on hold.聽

Rather than investigating allegations of discrimination, the OCR has begun issuing guidance meant to further the Trump administration鈥檚 attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and bring curricula and instructional materials in line with its agenda. One memo, issued on Feb. 14, 2025, gave schools two weeks to in all aspects of student, academic, and campus life under threat of .

The memo appears to forbid everything from teaching racism in schools to sponsored student groups, such as Black or Latinx student unions. While it is not itself a law, the memo reveals the Trump administration鈥檚 warped interpretation of and intention to undermine existing nondiscrimination legislation.聽

A Jan. 29, 2025, called for 鈥渆nding radical indoctrination鈥� in schools and promotion of 鈥減atriotic education,鈥� reflecting the administration鈥檚 dangerous interpretation of nondiscrimination laws and its desire to whitewash schooling. 鈥淭he executive order on ending radical indoctrination in K鈥�12 schooling is asking schools to ignore a fulsome, truthful history and to only focus on what鈥檚 鈥榠nspiring,鈥欌�� says Tricia Gallagher-Geurtsen, quoting the executive order. Gallagher-Geurtsen is a lecturer in critical race and ethnic studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and works with primary and secondary school teachers as co-chair of the San Diego Unified School District Ethnic Studies Advisory Committee.聽

鈥淭he main issue with all of these orders is that the thinking behind them ignores the statistics that show racism exists in every facet of American life,鈥� Gallagher-Geurtsen continues. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 see race, you can鈥檛 see racism, and therefore, it will grow unabated, so the executive orders are woefully ignorant and also incredibly dangerous.鈥�

The Trump administration鈥檚 demands are already having a chilling effect on educators. 鈥淭eachers have shared with me that they鈥檙e frightened of what鈥檚 to come,鈥� says Gallagher-Geurtsen. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e also really angry that the executive branch is determining what should be taught in schools. Teachers are describing this as censorship and a reflection of white supremacy.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 a chilling effect to know that I have to look over my shoulder because of the political times we鈥檙e living in,鈥� says the California teacher. They also worry that the Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to whitewash education could drive some students, particularly students of color, out of school. 鈥淲hen their history education is being curtailed or attempted to be curtailed, I think they鈥檙e going to lose a lot of interest in school in general.鈥� 

Research on the shows that students who take such courses tend to engage more in school and are more likely to graduate and enroll in college. The classes have also been shown to and academic performance of students who are at risk of dropping out. 鈥淭o me, the purpose [of Trump鈥檚 attacks] may be to continue the oppression of certain groups and make them not want to fulfill their potential [through] education,鈥� concludes the California teacher.

Additionally, research shows that teaching about race and racism , while attempts to ignore race in the classroom have the opposite effect. The California teacher believes undermining the positive effects of learning about race and racism is core to the Trump administration鈥檚 efforts to dismantle public education. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a systemic approach by the Trump administration to return the country to a time when communities of color had their place, and their place was a lot lower down the academic ladder and the financial ladder, and a time where only a handful of chosen people could contribute [to the nation鈥檚 story].鈥�

Many educators are unwilling to bend to the Trump administration in its pursuit of these regressive aims. The American Federation of Teachers, the nation鈥檚 second-largest teachers鈥� labor union, sued the Trump administration over the Feb. 14 memo from the OCR. The suit argues that the memo鈥檚 guidance .

On March 24, and labor unions sued over Trump鈥檚 order to shutter the Department of Education. 鈥淲orking people are not going to stand idly by while this administration destroys public education,鈥� said April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, in a announcing the suit.

Plus, in classrooms nationwide, educators are making brave choices to continue recognizing and honoring the diverse needs and backgrounds of their students despite the Oval Office鈥檚 posturing. Gallagher-Geurtsen is among those who believe that 鈥渢he way forward is not through a colorblind, whitewashed education.鈥� Rather, she says, 鈥淭he way forward is through a reckoning with the past and present of racism. When we understand and lift up our understanding of how racism works, we diminish it, and that happens through looking at race and racism in our origins and our present.鈥�

The California educator says in their classroom, they will continue to uplift the diverse perspectives of their students because they believe 鈥渢he country is a lot better when everybody has the opportunity to contribute to its story and to live up to [its] promise.鈥�