Project 2025 on Education
Simply stated, Project 2025 aims to completely eliminate the Department of Education. It also calls for the obliteration of Head Start and teachers unions.
In a People magazine article by Kyler Alvord it is stated that: Project 2025, which partnered with the far-right group Moms for Liberty, “…guides the president on actions they can take to dismantle the public education system and privatize education with or without congressional approval.” (Ref. 1)
This policy is based on a plan proposed in 1955 by economist Milton Friedman who wanted to privatize the U.S. public school system. In the Project 2025 plan, parents would direct their child’s share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA), funded mainly by state and local taxpayers, and then choose their own education options.
Removing federal oversight from funding that protects vulnerable students will allow states to spend funding as they see fit. State and local legislators and administrators could make decisions that prioritize private and religious schools and create policies that exclude or discriminate against underprivileged individuals. It would eliminate the division between church and state in public schools. By demanding that curriculum be purged of anything related to “critical race theory” and “gender ideology”, many of the strides made for civil rights and LGBTQ+ youth would be reversed.
Already the State Superintendent of Oklahoma is requiring that the bible must be in every Grade 5-12 classroom and taught by teachers. Louisiana has become the first state to require that the 10 Commandments be posted in public school classrooms. Florida Governor Ron De Santis has prohibited curricular references to racial disparities and LGBTQ+ identities.
Reference:
- People Magazine article “What is Project 2025? Inside The Far-Right Plan Threatening Everything From the Word ‘Gender’ to Public Education” by Kyler Alvord, July 11, 2024. https://people.com/what-is-project-2025-inside-far-right-plan-trump-presidency-8622964
Read more below.
Michele Shrum
Education Action Team Member
Project 2025 Statements on Education
In the chapter on the Department of Education, Project 2025 outlines how to dismantle the department. Key items include:
OVERVIEW
“Bolstered by an ever-growing cabal of special interests that thrive off federal largesse, the infrastructure that supports America’s costly federal intervention in education from early childhood through graduate school has entrenched itself. But, unlike the public sector bureaucracies, public employee unions, and the higher education lobby, families and students do not need a Department of Education to learn, grow, and improve their lives. It is critical that the next Administration tackle this entrenched infrastructure.” (Ref. 1, pg. 322)
Restoring state and local control over education funding
“enabling states to put federal funding toward any lawful education purpose under state law.” (Ref. 1, pg. 322)
Safeguarding Civil Rights
“Enforcement of civil rights should be based on a proper understanding of those laws, rejecting gender ideology and critical race theory” (Ref. 1, pg. 322)
NEEDED REFORMS
“To improve educational opportunities for all Americans, the next Administration should work with Congress to pass a Department of Education Reorganization Act to reform, eliminate, or move the department’s programs and offices to appropriate agencies.” (Ref. 1, pg. 325)
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)
- “Transfer Title I,…which provides federal funding for lower-
income school districts, to the Department of Health and Human
Services…It should be administered as a no-strings-attached formula block grant.
- Federal Impact Aid program (provides funding to school districts to compensate for OESE also currently manages the federal Impact Aid program, which provides fund-
ing to school districts to compensate for reductions in property tax revenue due to the
presence of federal property (such as that associated with a military base or tribal lands).
- Eliminate Impact Aid not tied to students.
- Move student-driven Impact Aid programs to the Department of Defense Education Authority (DoDEA) or the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education.
- Transfer all Indian education programs to the Bureau of Indian Education.
- The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, which provides vouchers to low-income children living in the nation’s capital—appropriate as D.C. is under the jurisdiction of Congress—should be expanded into a universal program, formula-funded, and moved to the Department of Health and Human Services”. (Ref. 1, pg. 326)
Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education
“Transfer the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education’s few programs to the Department of Labor, but, move the Tribally Controlled Postsecondary Career and Technical Education Program to the Bureau of Indian Education.” (Ref. 1, pg. 325-6)
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)
“Most IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) funding should be converted into a no-strings formula block grant targeted at students with disabilities and distributed directly to local education agencies by Health and Human Services”
Transfer the Vocational Rehabilitation Grants for Native American students to the Bureau of Indian Education
To the extent that OSERS supports federal efforts to enforce our laws against discrimination of individuals with disabilities, those assets should be moved to the Department of Justice (DOJ) along with the Office for Civil Rights” (OCR). (Ref. 1, pg. 326-327)
Office for Postsecondary Education (OPE)
“Rather than continuing to buttress a higher education establishment captured by woke “diversicrats” and a de facto monopoly enforced by the federal accreditation cartel, federal postsecondary education policy should prepare students for jobs in the dynamic economy, nurture institutional diversity, and expose schools to greater market forces.” (Ref. 1, pg. 320)
- “The next Administration should work with Congress to eliminate or move programs to the Employment and Training Administration at the Department of Labor
- Move programs deemed important to our national security interests to the Department of State.” (Ref. 1, pg. 327)
Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA)
“Should completely reverse the student loan federalization of 2010 and work with Congress to spin off FSA and its student loan obligations to a new government corporation with professional governance and management.
With a statutory charge that it preserve the federal student loan portfolio for
the benefit of the taxpayers and students, this new entity would be (1) profession-
ally governed by an agency head and board of trustees appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate; (2) funded with annual appropriations from Congress; and (3) operated by professional managers. Federal loans would be assigned directly to the Treasury Department, which would manage collections and defaults.”(Ref. 1, pg. 327-328)
Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
“The federal government has an essential responsibility to enforce civil rights protections, but
Washington should do so through the Department of Justice and federal courts. The OCR at DOJ should be able to enforce only through litigation.”(Ref. 1, pg. 330)
CURRENT LAWS RELATING TO THE DEPT OF EDUCATION THAT REQUIRE REPEAL
“In order to fully wind down the Department of Education, Congress must pass and the President must sign into law a Department of Education Reorganization Act (or Liquidating Authority Act) to direct the executive branch on how to devolve the agency as a stand-alone Cabinet-level department. Congress should pass and the next President should sign a Department of Education Reorganization Act.” (Ref. 1, pg. 330)
CURRENT REGULATIONS PROMULGATED BY OR RELEVANT TO THE AGENCY THAT SHOULD BE ROLLED BACK OR ELIMINATED
Charter School Grant Program “The new Administration must take immediate steps to lessen the federal restrictions on charter schools.” (Ref. 1, page 331)
Civil Rights Data Collection “The new Administration must quickly move to rescind changes, which added a new “nonbinary” sex category to OCR’S data collection and issue a new CRDC that will collect data directly relevant to OCR’s statutory enforcement authority” (Ref. 1, page 332)
Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance (Title IX)
“define “sex” under Title IX to mean only biological sex recognized at birth; and strengthen protections for faith-based educational institutions, programs, and activities.” (Ref. 1, page 333)
“…there is no scientific or legal basis for redefining “sex” to “sexual orientation and gender identity” insistence that “sex” is properly understood as a fixed biological fact.” (Ref. 1, page 333)
“The next Administration should move quickly to restore the rights of women and girls and restore due process protections for accused Individuals” (Ref. 1, page 333)
“On its first day in office, the next Administration should signal its intent to enter the rulemaking process to restore the Trump Administration’s Title IX regulation, with the additional insistence that “sex” is properly understood as a fixed biological fact.” (Ref. 1, page 334)
Title VI—School Discipline and Disparate Impact
“Unfortunately, federal overreach has pushed many school leaders to prioritize the pursuit of racial parity in school discipline indicators—such as detentions, suspensions, and expulsions over student safety.” (Ref. 1, page 334)
“Although it would require political capital from the White House, given that mainstream news outlets are sure to frame it as an attack on civil rights, the next conservative Administration should take sweeping action to assure that the purpose of the Civil Rights Act is not inverted through a disparate impact standard to provide a pretext for theoretically endless federal meddling.” (Ref. 1, page 336)
Assistance to States for the Education of Children with Disabilities, Preschool Grants for Children with Disabilities (Equity in IDEA) regulations
“Part B of IDEA requires states to consider race and ethnicity in the identification, placement, and discipline of students with disabilities. The new Administration should rescind this regulation.”(Ref. 1, page 336)
“School districts deemed to over-represent minority students in special education assignment, or in discipline amongst special education students, are tagged by their state education agencies as engaging in “significant disproportionality,” and are required to reallocate 15 percent of their IDEA Part B money into coordinated early intervening services that are intended to address the “root causes of disproportionality.” In practice, this can mean raiding special education funding to pay for CRT-inspired “equity” consultants and professional development.” (Ref. 1, page 336) (CRT – Critical Race Theory)
Provide School Meals to Children in Need; Do Not Use Federal Meals to Support Radical Ideology
“Since the 1940s, federal lawmakers have greatly expanded these meal programs creating an entitlement for nearly all students, regardless of family income levels, and have turned the meal programs into some of the most wasteful federal programs in Washington. Now, the USDA is threatening to withhold federal taxpayer spending for these meals from schools that do not implement Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 so that the term “sex” is replaced with “sexual orientation and gender identity” (SOGI).
The next Administration should prohibit the USDA or any other federal agency from with- holding services from federal or state agencies — including but not limited to K–12 schools—that choose not to replace “sex” with “SOGI” in that agency’s administration of Title IX” (Ref. 1, page 337)
OTHER STRUCTURAL REFORMS THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REQUIRES
Reform Federal Education Data Collection
“The Department of Education (or whichever agency collects such data long term) should make student data available by family structure to the public” (Ref. 1, page 338)
Reform the Office of Federal Student Aid
“end the prior Administration’s abuse of the agency’s payment pause and HEA loan forgiveness programs, including borrower defense to repayment, closed school discharge, and Public Service Loan Forgiveness…
The federal government does not have the proper incentives to make sound lending decisions, so the new Administration should consider returning to a system in which private lenders, backed by government guarantees, would compete to offer student loans, including subsidized and unsubsidized, loans.
…The next Administration should work with Congress to spin off federal student aid into a new government corporation with professional governance and management. (Ref. 1, page 340-1)
NEW POLICY PRIORITIES FOR 2025 AND BEYOND
New Legislation That Should Be Prioritized
The NEA (National Education Association) is the Nation’s largest teachers union.
“ In fact, the NEA and the nation’s other large teacher union, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), use litigation and other efforts to block school choice and advocate for additional taxpayer spending in education….
Congress should rescind the National Education Association’s congressional charter and remove the false impression that federal taxpayers support the political activities of this special interest group.” (Ref. 1, pages 341-342)
“…the union promotes radical racial and gender ideologies in schools” (Ref. 1, page 342)
“The NEA is a demonstrably radical special interest group that overwhelmingly supports left-of-center policies and policymakers.” (Ref. 1, page 342)
Parental Rights in Education and Safeguarding Students
“Federal officials should protect educators and students in jurisdictions under federal control from racial discrimination by reinforcing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and prohibiting compelled speech. Specifically, no teacher or student…should be compelled to believe, profess, or adhere to any idea, but especially ideas that violate state and federal civil rights laws.
… By its very design, critical race theory has an “applied” dimension, as its founders state in their essays that define the theory. Those who subscribe to the theory believe that racism (in this case, treating individuals differently based on race) is appropriate—necessary, even—making the theory more than merely an analytical tool to describe race in public and private life. The theory disrupts America’s Founding ideals of freedom and opportunity. So, when critical race theory is used as part of school activities such as mandatory affinity groups, teacher training programs in which educators are required to confess their privilege, or school Department of Education assignments in which students must defend the false idea that America is systemically racist, the theory is actively disrupting the values that hold communities together such as equality under the law and colorblindness.
As such, lawmakers should design legislation that prevents the theory from spreading discrimination.
For K–12 systems under their jurisdiction, federal lawmakers should adopt proposals that say no individual should receive punishment or benefits based on the color of their skin.
Furthermore, school officials should not require students or teachers to believe that individuals are guilty or responsible for the actions of others based on race or ethnicity. “(Ref. 1, page 342 – 343)
Protect Parental Rights in Policy
“The next Administration should take particular note of how radical gender ideology is having a devastating effect on school-aged children today—especially young girls.
No public education employee or contractor shall use a name to address a student other than the name listed on a student’s birth certificate, without the written permission of a student’s parents or guardians.
No public education employee or contractor shall use a pronoun in addressing a student that is different from that student’s biological sex without the written permission of a student’s parents or guardians.
No public institution may require an education employee or contractor to use a pronoun that does not match a person’s biological sex if contrary to the employee’s or contractor’s religious or moral convictions.” (Ref. 1, page 346)
Advance School Choice Policies
“Congress should expand eligibility to all students, regardless of income or background, and raise the scholarship amount closer to the funding students receive in D.C. Public Schools (spending per student in 2020 was $22,856).
All families should be able to take their children’s taxpayer-funded education dollars to the education providers of their choosing—whether it be a public school or a private school.
Congress should additionally deregulate the program by removing the requirement of private schools to administer the D.C. Public Schools assessment and allowing private schools to control their admissions processes” (Ref. 1, page 347)
Provide Education Choice for Populations Under the Jurisdiction of Congress
“…educators at Department of Defense schools around the world are using radical gender theory and critical race theory in their lessons. This instructional material discards biology in favor of political indoctrination and applies critical race theory’s core tenets advocating for more
racial discrimination. Such ideas are highly unpopular among parents, according to nationally representative surveys, and the course material attempts to indoctrinate students with radical ideas about race and the ambiguous concept of “gender.”(Ref. 1, page 348)
Expand Education Choice Through Portability of Existing Federal Funds
“Setting education policy on the right track long term would require sunsetting the U.S. Department of Education altogether. Doing so would not result in fewer resources and less assistance for children with special needs or from low-income families. Rather, closing the federal behemoth would better target existing taxpayer resources already set aside for these students by shifting oversight responsibilities to federal and state agencies that have more expertise in helping these populations.
The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is the federal law governing taxpayer spending on K–12 students with special needs. Federal lawmakers should move IDEA oversight and implementation to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.” (Ref. 1, page 348)
“Over a 10-year period, the federal spending should be phased out and states should assume decision-making control over how to provide a quality education to children from low-income families”. (Ref. 1, page 350)
Additional K-12 Reform
“To restore state and local control of education and reduce the bureaucratic and compliance burden, Congress should allow states to opt out of the dozens of federal K–12 education programs authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and instead
allow states to put their share of federal funding toward any lawful education purpose under state law. (Ref. 1, page 351)
Higher Education Reform
“Prohibit accreditation agencies from leveraging their Title IV gatekeeper role to mandate that educational institutions adopt diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.
Protect faith-based institutions by prohibiting accreditation agencies from: 1. Requiring standards and criteria that undermine the religious beliefs of, or require policies or conduct that conflict with, the religious mission or religious beliefs of the institution; and Department of Education intruding on the governance of colleges and universities controlled by a religious organization.”(Ref. 1, page 352-3)
Student Loan Reform
“The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which prioritizes government and public sector work over private sector employment, should be terminated.”(Ref. 1, page 354)
“The current Administration has recklessly engaged in the policy fetish of forgiving and canceling student loans with abandon.”(Ref. 1, page 354)
NEW AGENCY POLICIES THAT DON’T REQUIRE NEW LEGISLATION OR REGULATIONS TO ENACT
“An accounting of how federal programs/grants spread DEI/CRT/gender ideology” (Ref. 1, page 358)
“A report on the negative influence of action civics on students’ understanding of history and civics and their disposition toward the United States” (Ref. 1, page 359)
Organizational Issues
“Eliminate the PLUS loan program…which provides graduate student loans and loans to the parents of undergraduate students, should be eliminated….
Eliminate GEAR-UP. It is not the responsibility of the federal government to provide taxpayer dollars to create a pipeline from high school to college. GEAR UP should be eliminated, and its functions should instead be handled privately or at the state and local levels, where policymakers are better equipped to increase college preparedness within their school districts.” (Ref. 1, page 361)
Also Impacting Education:
Project 2025 on Department of Defense
Needed Reforms
“Improve military recruiters’ access to secondary schools and require completion of the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB)—the military entrance examination—by all students in schools that receive federal funding.
Encourage Members of Congress to provide time to military recruiters during each townhall session in their congressional districts.
Increase the number of Junior ROTC programs in secondary schools.” (Ref. 1, page 102-3)
References:
- Mandate for Leadership, The Conservative Promise, Project 2025, Presidential Transition Project;
https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf