By Kandiss Edwards
Another day, another executive order handed down by the Trump administration. This time, the focus is on diverting funds meant for public schools under the guise of âschool choice.â
On Jan. 29, President Trump signed the âEnding Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schoolingâ executive order. The order is being marketed as an expansion of school choice, allowing parents to have broader options for their childrenâs education.
While the teaching of Americaâs past wrongs â such as Jim Crow, slavery, Japanese internment, Black Codes, and Native American exile â may trigger discomfort for some, there is no curriculum in the United States that âcompelsâ students to âadopt identitiesâ based on race or ethnicity.
While the order is lengthy, âSection 3, Ending Indoctrination Strategy,â outlines a 90-day timeline to eliminate funding for:
(i) All federal funding sources and streams, including grants or contracts, that directly or indirectly support or subsidize the instruction, advancement, or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology:
(B) in K-12 teacher education, certification, licensing, employment, or training.
The Trump administration has stressed that its definition of âdiscriminatory equity ideologyâ includes efforts to promote diversity, equity and inclusion policies, the teaching of Americaâs turbulent history casting the country in an unfavorable light, and the teaching of Black efforts to dismantle racist practices throughout the nationâs history.
The thought behind the order is not new, as states across the nation have been adopting miniature versions of the policy. The âDonât Say Gayâ bill in Florida, the banned books movement, the dismantling of DEI in federal agencies, and attacks on critical race theory â which is not taught at the K-12 level, but rather at colleges and universities â all culminated in this bill.
While it is titled âEnding Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,â there are radical claims within the text itself.
The order falsely claims that public institutions are engaged in âsteering students toward surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent.â
There are no documented instances of schools promoting surgical mutilation.
Public funding is being withheld and penalties imposed on institutions that promote the âsocialâ changing of a studentâs gender. Socially changing gender is defined as using nicknames given by students that do not align with gender norms or using preferred pronouns.
It remains unclear whether the order is lawful or will be enacted in its entirety, as many of Trumpâs executive orders since his inauguration have been successfully challenged. The recent order to freeze Federal Funding grants was declared unconstitutional by a federal court and was quickly rescinded.
Only time will tell how this will impact the majority of Americaâs students attending K-12 public schools.