OPINION: Trump Executive Orders Against DEI: How the Education Sector is Responding

The University of Akron recently halted its annual films and performances related to diversity, equity and social justice, called “Rethinking Race,” which it held annually for almost 20 years, as a result of anti-D.E.I. executive orders issued by President Trump. 

President Donald Trump signed several executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. Jim Watson/Getty

Trump has issued a number of executive orders since coming into office which are aimed at outlawing diversity policies within the commercial and educational sector and the national government. Through these program cuts within the federal government, he is effectively putting workers in those divisions on paid leave. One order calls for the closure of D.E.I. jobs, initiatives, funding, and contracts at agencies and educational institutions. Another order cancels the country's military programs that previously promoted diversity. Additionally, Trump directed high-ranking officials to examine the transgender policy in the U.S military. The President explains that he is “committed to meritocracy and to the elimination of race-based and sex-based discrimination within the Armed Forces of the United States” (Trump). Another order threatens to stop providing government funds to educational institutions that don’t support “patriotic” instruction.

Within the education sector, schools at all levels are reacting differently to these new executive orders. Administrators in universities are discussing whether to halt current programs, resist federal authorities based on principle, or attempt to stay under the radar and see the results of these orders likely being contested in the Supreme Court. Differing from establishments of lower education (K-12) who receive 90% of their funding from local and state taxes, hundreds of millions of dollars of federal financing are at stake in higher education. Because of the new N.C.A.A regulations, brought about by President Trump's directive prohibiting transgender athletes from participating in women's sports, Princeton University is already changing its policies. Their sports department has just published an updated transgender athlete participation policy to adhere to the new regulations. Other universities are modifying class requirements that involve diversity, equality, and inclusion in order to guarantee that they would still get funding from the federal government. Certain classes involving D.E.I. will not be mandatory for graduation from the University of North Carolina, as they previously had been. 

Already, since January 2023, the Chronicle of Higher Education has found that over 240 universities in 36 states have discontinued some elements of their D.E.I. curriculum, such as affinity clubs based on ethnicity or diversity centers. These new moves by Trump, however, will likely cause further curriculum changes. And universities and colleges are not the only schools under review for non-adhesion to new Trump policies. According to the Education Department, more than two K-12 school districts are under examination by Trump: the Ithaca City School District in New York and Denver Public Schools. In particular, Denver schools are most likely being watched because of their recent conversion of a girl’s restroom into a nonbinary restroom. The future of diversity programs, particularly in the education sector, has now become more precarious than ever.

Sources: 

Archie, Ayana. “Trump Signs Executive Order Taking Aim at DEI Programs in the Military.” NPR, 28 Jan. 2025, www.npr.org/2025/01/28/nx-s1-5276839/trump-executive-order-dei-military. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Otterman, Sharon, et al. “Trump’s D.E.I. Ban Has Been Open to Interpretation in Schools.” The New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025, www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/nyregion/trump-dei-executive-orders-schools.html. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.

Moore, ReNika. “Trump’s Executive Orders Rolling Back DEI and Accessibility Efforts, Explained | ACLU.” American Civil Liberties Union, 24 Jan. 2025, www.aclu.org/news/racial-justice/trumps-executive-orders-rolling-back-dei-and-accessibility-efforts-explained. Accessed 23 Feb. 2025.