President Donald Trump signed three executive orders Wednesday that build upon his campaign promises of fundamental changes to the U.S. education system.
The executive orders, the latest in a flurry of presidential actions Trump has taken since Inauguration Day, focus on ending "indoctrination" in K-12 schools, launching investigations into antisemitic campus protests, and enacting a federal school choice initiative.
An executive order on "Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling" would prohibit federal funding for schools that include "gender ideology and critical race theory in the classroom." The attorney general will be asked to work with state and local legal officials to "file actions against teachers and school officials who sexually exploit minors or practice medicine without a license through 'social transition' practices."
Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will be ordered to provide the president with a strategy to "end indoctrination" in elementary and high schools within 90 days of the order's signing.
The order also will reinstate the 1776 Commission that Trump created during his first term to promote patriotic education and counter lessons that divide Americans on race and slavery.
Another executive order is a result from the rise in antisemitic incidents on college campuses following Iranian-backed Hamas' terrorist attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and Israel's military response.
The Department of Justice and attorney general will be ordered to take "immediate action" to prosecute antisemitic crimes such as vandalism and intimidation, as well as investigate "anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities." The order also focuses on revoking and deporting student visas for those deemed sympathetic to Hamas.
The White House also is directing all federal agencies within 60 days of the order to review and report any criminal and civil authorities they have that can be used to address antisemitism.
The executive order on school choice will direct the Department of Education to issue guidance on how states can support K-12 scholarship programs with federal funding formulas. It will further direct the agency to prioritize school choice in department discretionary grant programs that are now the subject of a spending review.
The order also would require the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance on how states can use block grant funds for children and families to support "educational alternatives, including private and faith-based educational options and nonprofits," according to the White House summaries of Trump's orders.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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