‘Bring back world-class education’: Trump promises major education reform if re-elected

At the National Religious Broadcasters’ 2024 Christian Media Convention, former President Donald Trump promised to make major reforms to American education if re-elected.

“[A] top priority will be to take back our education system from the communists and the freaks that are destroying it,” Trump said to a cheering crowd. “On day one, I will sign a new executive order to cut federal funding for any school pushing Critical Race Theory, transgender insanity and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto our children.”

“I will support a policy of universal school choice, allowing parents to choose the public, private, charter or religious school that best suits their children,” he continued.

School choice is popular among voters according to recent polls. And ten states – Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia – have passed universal school choice policies in recent years. The governors of Texas, Tennessee and Alabama are also currently backing similar measures in their respective legislatures.

Trump also proposed establishing 529 education savings accounts (ESAs) for homeschool families to use on educational expenses. 

Such accounts are traditionally used for college expenses, though up to $10,000 can be used yearly for private K-12 schooling. 

Trump’s plan would give families the same tax benefits to educate their children at home. 

His last and perhaps boldest reform would be to abolish the U.S. Department of Education (DOE). 

“I will close the federal Department of Education, and we will move everything back to the states where it belongs and where they can individualize education,” he said. 

Although the federal government has been collecting education data since 1867, the DOE did not begin operation until 1980. Most of its budget is spent shuffling around taxpayer dollars in the form of grants and loans. 

Giving the power back to the states could help turn around the nation’s declining education system, Trump said. 

“We’re first on the list of the cost of education per student,” he explained. “We spend more per student by far than any other country, but we’re last in terms of results. The results are horrible.” 

Even when adjusting overall education spending as a percentage of GDP, the U.S. is tied for the fifth-largest education budget (6%). Norway spends the most on schooling, 6.6% of its GDP. 

However, when looking at the per-student dollar amount, U.S. K-12 spending exceeds Norway’s. 

America provides $16,390 per student. Norway spends $15,334 USD on primary school and $16,192 USD on secondary school pupils. 

Nevertheless, the U.S.’s academic outcomes are lagging far behind those of other countries.  

But Trump believes that education will thrive with the federal government staying out of it, except to enable educational freedom. 

“Many of these states would bring back world-class education,” he concluded.