In an exercise of authority granted by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, the President has issued an executive order aimed at safeguarding safety and order within American classrooms. The order outlines:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy. The Federal Government will no longer accept risks to children’s safety stemming from school disciplinary practices rooted in what it terms discriminatory and unlawful “equity” ideology.
Back in January 2014, the Departments of Education and Justice released a “Dear Colleague” letter concerning school discipline. This letter warned that schools could face violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and thus risk losing Federal funding, if their disciplinary actions did not align with a newly minted disparate-impact framework. This framework suggested that even race-neutral disciplinary policies could be deemed inappropriate if they resulted in disproportionate suspensions or expulsions among racial groups. Effectively, this mandated that schools base disciplinary actions on racial characteristics rather than objective behavior, leading to a troubling paradox: a system that encouraged discrimination under the guise of equity.
The fallout from this policy was detrimental. A 2018 report from the Federal Commission on School Safety revealed that many schools began to overlook or even hide student misconduct to evade scrutiny from the federal government regarding racial disparities in discipline. Consequently, students who posed risks to their peers remained in classrooms, compromising the safety of all students.
The Commission concluded that focusing on aggregate discipline statistics rather than the actual behavior and context of incidents made schools less safe. Research supports this, indicating that a lack of appropriate discipline for disruptive students negatively impacts overall student achievement. The obvious takeaway? Disciplinary decisions should rest with classroom teachers and administrators, grounded in observed behavior rather than racial data.
Following the Commission’s findings, the 2014 Dear Colleague letter was rescinded. However, in 2023, the previous administration’s Department of Education and Justice reintroduced guidance suggesting that racial disparities in student discipline may indicate legal violations. This effectively revived the approach of leveraging Title VI to push for disciplinary practices aligned with a controversial equity ideology, resulting in heightened classroom disorder and violence.
Sec. 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this order:
(a) The definitions established in the Executive Order of January 29, 2025 (Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling) apply.
(b) “Behavior Modification Techniques” refers to any disciplinary policies or practices rooted in discriminatory equity ideology.
Sec. 3. Ensuring Commonsense School Discipline Policies. (a) Within 30 days of this order, the Secretary of Education, in collaboration with the Attorney General, will issue new guidance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and State educational agencies (SEAs) concerning their obligations to avoid racial discrimination under Title VI in all aspects of school discipline.
(b) The Secretary of Education will take necessary actions against LEAs and SEAs that fail to uphold Title VI protections against racial discrimination in disciplinary practices.
(c) Within 60 days, the Secretary of Education and the Attorney General will coordinate with Governors and State Attorneys General to prevent racial discrimination in school discipline.
(d) Within 90 days, the Secretary of Defense must provide a revised school discipline code that adequately safeguards the education of children from military families.
(e) Within 120 days, the Secretary of Education must, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, submit a report to the President—via the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy—regarding the impact of discriminatory-equity-ideology-based school discipline and behavior modification techniques in public education. This report shall include:
(i) an inventory and analysis of all Title VI discipline-related investigations since 2009;
(ii) an evaluation of the influence of non-profit organizations receiving Federal grants in promoting discriminatory-equity-ideology-based discipline, along with recommendations to prevent Federal funds from supporting such programs;
(iii) an assessment of discipline-related policies and curricular alternatives that do not endorse discriminatory equity ideology; and
(iv) model school discipline policies that are sensible, ensure student safety, avoid unlawful discrimination, and are rooted in American values and traditional virtues.
Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) This order does not impair or affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to any executive department or agency, or its head; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget concerning budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order will be implemented in accordance with applicable law and subject to available appropriations.
(c) This order does not create any enforceable rights or benefits, substantive or procedural, against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officials, employees, or agents, or any other individual.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
April 23, 2025.
