A Quick Guide to What K-12 Schools Need to Look Out for with Recent Executive Orders

In the past few weeks, President Donald J. Trump has issued a flurry of executive orders including ones directly impacting K-12 schools. While it’s difficult to give clear guidance at this point because the executive orders are being challenged in the court system, here are some areas impacting schools that receive federal funding:

• Gender and Equity

Executive Order 14190 Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling targets gender and equity ideology. It instructs federal officials to create a plan for eliminating federal funding or support for educators who teach gender and equity ideology. The executive order also directs the U.S. Attorney General to coordinate with state officials to file appropriate actions against K-12 teachers and administrators who facilitate “social transition” of a minor. Among other things, it targets conduct relating to gender pronouns, name changes, bathroom accommodations, and athletic participation.

• Title IX and Women’s Sports

Relatedly, Executive Order 14201 Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports reverses course on recent Title IX regulations prohibiting gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination. It defines the term “sex” as a person’s “immutable biological classification as male or female” and excludes the concept of “gender identity.”  It threatens to rescind all funds from schools and organizations that permit participation in women’s sports based upon gender identity.

• School Vouchers

Executive Order 14191 Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families advances the use of federal money for private-school vouchers. It directs federal officials to find ways to take money that would go to public schools, child-care providers, and non-profits and give it to families to use at private schools including religious schools or for homeschooling.

• Anti-Semitism

Executive Order 14188 Additional Measures to Combat Antisemitism instructs federal agencies to use available resources to combat antisemitic harassment and violence and to focus on incidents and complaints of antisemitism after the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

• Immigration

While not an executive order, the recent directive to rescind “Protected Areas” Immigration Enforcement Policy paves the way for immigration arrests of students and parents at or near schools.

Schools that receive federal funding of any form should review and carefully monitor the impact of these executive orders and directives on their policies and practices.

Please contact Rebecca Sha , Ashley J. Heilprin, Erin Malone or any member of the Phelps Education team if you have questions or need advice or guidance.