President Donald J. Trump today issued an Executive Order titled “Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies,” signaling a significant shift in the federal government’s approach to student conduct and safety in American classrooms.
The order, signed on Wednesday, asserts that the federal government will no longer tolerate risks to student safety stemming from discipline policies based on “discriminatory and unlawful ‘equity’ ideology.”
The Executive Order directly addresses guidance issued in 2014 by the Department of Education and the Department of Justice, which advised schools that disparities in disciplinary outcomes among racial groups could be investigated as potential violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even if policies were race-neutral on their face.
The order argues that this guidance effectively compelled schools to “discriminate on the basis of race by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics, rather than on objective behavior alone.”
According to the Executive Order, this prior approach led to negative consequences, citing a 2018 report from the Federal Commission on School Safety. That report, the order states, indicated that schools may have “ignored or covered up – rather than disciplined – student misconduct in order to avoid any purported racial disparity in discipline numbers.” The order concludes that this resulted in less safe classrooms as students who should have been removed for dangerous behavior remained.
The order emphasizes the finding of the Commission that “disciplinary decisions are best left in the hands of classroom teachers and administrators” and should be based on student behavior, not racial statistics. While the 2014 guidance was rescinded following the 2018 report, the Executive Order claims that new guidance issued in 2023 by the “previous administration’s Department of Education and Department of Justice” effectively reinstated this approach by suggesting statistical racial disparities could indicate legal violations and encouraging schools to adjust policies based on racial data. The order contends this has led to “increased levels of classroom disorder and school violence.”
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The Executive Order defines “Behavior Modification Techniques” as any school discipline policies or practices that incorporate or are based on “discriminatory equity ideology.”
To implement the new policy, the order directs the Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Attorney General, to issue new guidance to local and state educational agencies within 30 days. This guidance will focus on school discipline and the obligation not to engage in racial discrimination under Title VI in all contexts, including school discipline. The Secretary of Education is also directed to take “appropriate action” against agencies that fail to comply with Title VI protections against racial discrimination in applying school discipline.
Within 60 days, the Secretaries of Education and the Attorney General are tasked with coordinating with Governors and State Attorneys General on preventing racial discrimination in school discipline. The Secretary of Defense is ordered to issue a revised school discipline code for children of military families within 90 days.
Furthermore, within 120 days, the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, must submit a report to the President. This report is required to inventory and analyze Title VI discipline-related investigations since 2009, assess the role of non-profit organizations receiving federal grants in promoting “discriminatory-equity-ideology-based” discipline, and recommend ways to prevent federal funds from supporting such practices. The report will also assess alternative discipline policies that do not promote this ideology and propose model policies rooted in “common sense, protect the safety and educational environment of students, do not promote unlawful discrimination, and are rooted in American values and traditional virtues.”
The Executive Order includes general provisions stating that it should not be construed to impair the authority of executive departments or the functions of the Office of Management and Budget. It also clarifies that the order is to be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations, and that it does not create any enforceable rights or benefits.
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