Donald Trump’s re-election manifesto proposes major changes to educational policies in the U.S.
Donald Trump records a video outlining his education policy proposals. (credit: Agenda47)
Donald Trump pledges in his re-election manifesto Agenda47 to fire “radical Left [collegiate] accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist Maniacs and lunatics” and remove “all Marxist diversity, equity, and inclusion bureaucrats.” Trump described his motives as seeking to defend “the American tradition and Western civilization.”
John Pitney, the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Politics at Claremont McKenna College, described these policies as a punishment for college-educated Americans who typically vote for the Democratic Party. About 36% of registered voters have a four-year college degree or more education, and “Democrats increasingly dominate in party identification among white college graduates,” according to the Pew Research Center. Pitney argued that the policies were Trump’s way of “trying to go after colleges and universities.”
Trump also describes building a free online college called the American Academy, which would provide students with Bachelor's degrees funded by taxing and suing large private university endowments. Trump claims the American Academy was inspired by “once-respected universities expressing support for the savages and jihadists who attacked Israel.” The academy would “be strictly non-political, and there will be no wokeness or jihadism allowed,” according to Trump.
In the 2024 GOP platform, Trump also pledged to “deport pro-Hamas radicals” to make college campuses “safe and patriotic.” How Trump could deport U.S. citizens whom he views as “pro-Hamas radicals” remains unclear.
Trump also voiced opposition to “unlawful [racial] discrimination under the guise of equity” in education institutions. For colleges that continue these forms of discrimination, Trump threatened to fine their entire endowment and direct the Department of Justice to file federal civil rights charges against them.
In the GOP platform, Trump announced intentions to dismantle the Department of Education and “let the States run our educational system.” The Department of Education oversees federal standards and funding for the nation’s public schools. The department began under President Jimmy Carter in 1979, and his successor, Ronald Reagan, began a movement to dismantle the department.
Trump also pledged in Agenda47 to cut federal funding for any K-12 public school promoting Critical Race Theory or gender ideology. In addition, he describes creating a “new credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values.”
Pitney is specifically concerned about proposals regarding The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which grants money to state public schools provided they meet certain conditions for their students with disabilities. These proposals would remove the conditions from this grant, turning it into a no-strings block grant, meaning states do not need to follow guidelines to receive money.
Pitney explained that the removal of these guidelines could jeopardize educational protections for students with disabilities. “All of the protections of that federal law that special education parents have relied on for decades… disappear because it's not a civil rights law,” said Pitney.
Trump’s Agenda47 and GOP platform outline his strategy for reshaping American K-12 and higher education. On this Election Day, the country stands at a crossroads for education—the direction it chooses remains to be seen.
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