How might education offerings in Texas work under the Trump administration?

The divide between the education goals of conservative lawmakers in Texas and the policy the White House supports — has widened over the past four years on issues like curriculum; availability of library book; gender in athletics; and diversity, equity and inclusion — will likely shrink once President-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated in January.

Trump also promised Eliminate the US Department of EducationIt is a $238 billion agency that was founded in 1979 and employs thousands of people. The department is responsible for distributing federal funding to universities and K-12 schools and providing financial aid to college students, and for enforcing civil rights laws and Title IX, which prohibit discrimination based on sex in schools.

“With academics obsessed with brainwashing America’s youth, it’s time to take back our once-great educational institutions from the radical left. And that’s what we’re going to do,” Trump said in a speech Monday. he said. Video shared by billionaire Elon Musk on XOwner of Tesla and SpaceX and appointed by the president-elect Co-chairing a new agency that will recommend cuts to excessive government regulations and wasteful spending.

As Trump prepares to enter the Oval Office on January 20, experts say his leadership could take Texas-like policies to a national scale and question federal funding.

Easing the path for Texas politics

David DeMatthews, a professor of educational leadership and policy at the University of Texas, said Trump and other conservatives are embracing a “right-wing agenda” that was not acceptable under Texan George W. Bush, the last Republican president to pass the No Child Act. Left Behind Act to increase access to education for disadvantaged students.

DeMatthews said Trump is not the source of conservative social proposals in education today, but a “potential tool” that states and officials can use to achieve them.

On the campaign trail, Trump spoke favorably of school vouchers, a program that uses public money for private schools for K-12 students and has become a divisive issue in Texas politics and will likely determine the 2025 legislative session.

David Brockman, a resident scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy who studies religion, education and policy, said there could be support for the policy on the national stage, or at least a friendly environment, within the next four years.

That could also be true of other Republican education-related priorities in Texas, he said. For example, a series Elementary school curriculum developed by the Texas Education Agency He said the program, which aims to help teachers, came under fire over the summer for its inclusion and handling of stories that reference the Bible.

“I don’t know that Trump’s policies will change education policies in Texas as much as bringing Texas policies to the national stage,” Brockman said.

in Texas, Attorney General Ken Paxton sues to block Biden administration’s new Title IX regulations This ended Trump-era protections for people accused of sexual assault and expanded protections for survivors and LGBTQ individuals in K-12 and higher education institutions. DeMatthews said that now that Trump is back in office, he will likely lift Biden-era protections, making the cases moot in favor of Texas.

as texas aims to further restrict DEI in higher education courses Next session, the president-elect will likely add more weight to these efforts. In a video released Monday, Trump said he would punish schools he deems racially discriminatory through DEI “up to the full extent of their donations” and send the money to victims of the policy.

“We will remove this anti-American madness from our institutions once and for all,” Trump said.

Adam Nyguen, education strategist and CEO and founder of Ivy Link, which provides coaching and mentoring to students on how to apply to prestigious universities, said Trump’s warnings and rhetoric were effective because universities depend on federal funding. In Texas, that could mean more strictly complying with already existing state anti-DEI laws, such as Senate Bill 17, to avoid scrutiny from the federal government.

“Even the wealthiest universities, like Harvard and Yale, still rely heavily on federal funds for scholarships and financial aid for their students,” Nyguen said. “And when you bring all three branches of government under one party, you’re going to see some changes down the road.”

Financing and compliance tools

Perhaps the biggest plan Trump has announced is to close the Department of Education. The idea is not new – then-President Ronald Reagan tried to cut the department In the 1980s, however, this effort ended without support. Now that Trump will have a Republican-controlled Senate and a strong hold on the party, eliminating the Department of Education, which requires an act of Congress, seems more appropriate than when Reagan made his campaign promise; But the president-elect will need the Democratic Party. They support exceeding the 60-vote threshold, and Democrats are not keen on the idea.

But it’s more common to see federal departments being redesigned because completely eliminating an agency is a rare move, said Tara Leigh Grove, a professor at UT School of Law.

“This would be an unusual change in the normal functioning of Washington, D.C.,” Grove said.

As president, Trump would already have a lot of power to direct the department’s spending, he said.

Any contraction that results in fewer dollars coming to counties could mean a “crisis situation” for Texas public schools because districts are already strapped for cash, said Sarah Woulfin, a professor of educational leadership and policy at UT.

“No matter how you slice it, the funds are there to do really important and thoughtful work in Texas schools,” Woulfin said.

The federal department oversees important programs such as Title I, which helps fund education for low-income students and private and bilingual education. Typically, federal funding is approximately 5% to 6% of total K-12 education spending In Texas.

The same department also provides third-party oversight of individual state education departments, much like the Texas Education Agency audits local school districts. Robert Kim, executive director of the nonprofit Education Law Center, said the federal office handles civil rights complaints across the country.

“The office was flooded,” Kim said. “They get close to 20,000 complaints a year.”

The ministry also monitors states’ compliance with the legislation. Individuals with Disabilities Education ActEnsuring access to special education services before distributing federal funding.

Project 2025, a comprehensive plan by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, proposed that states receive the money “without strings attached.” Trump insisted he had nothing to do with writing Project 2025 and distanced himself from the plan.

in 2018 Texas Education Agency under federal scrutiny for failing to adequately identify and provide services to Texas children in need of special education services.

“This is a critical issue that could potentially impact every Texan,” DeMatthews said. “You’re going to have a child, and if your child is disabled, parents have rights under this law. Children also have rights under this law.”

Trump also plans to “fire” accrediting agencies responsible for certifying that higher education institutions comply with academic standards and laws, calling the plan his “secret weapon” for overhauling education.

“Accreditors are supposed to make sure schools don’t rip off students and taxpayers, but they have completely failed,” Trump said, claiming tuition fees are “exploding.”

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges accredits degree-granting universities in Texas and other Southern states, and the Department of Education oversees the process. Universities must be accredited to receive federal aid.

Without the department or accrediting agencies, Trump would potentially have more jurisdiction over the standards colleges must meet to receive federal money.

“They are not ideologically driven,” DeMatthews said of the accrediting agencies. “They focus on making sure that programs have standards and that universities meet certain basic requirements.”

The Southern Association of Colleges declined to comment until Trump has a formal plan.

Trump also said he wants to promote education about Western civilization, guarantee free speech, eliminate “wasteful administrative positions” and fire all “Marxist diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucrats.”

Easing the path for Texas politics

Financing and compliance tools

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