In a wide-ranging effort to reshape American education policy, former President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on April 23 aimed at overhauling how schools and universities operate. The actions span across K–12 and higher education, with mandates focused on increasing artificial intelligence (AI) education, reforming college accreditation, rolling back Obama-era school discipline guidance, promoting transparency on foreign gifts to universities, and revising federal support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
One of the central directives calls for a national push to bring AI education into high schools. Trump ordered the Departments of Education and Labor to create AI-related certification programs and expand apprenticeships in the field. He also instructed the National Science Foundation to prioritize research on how AI can be used in education and requested teacher training grants to emphasize AI literacy.
“This is a big deal, because AI seems to be where it’s at,” Trump said during the signing ceremony.
In higher education, Trump’s orders direct federal agencies to scrutinize accrediting bodies that promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards. The White House argued that such standards violate federal civil rights laws and contribute to what it described as “ideological overreach.” Accrediting organizations that are found in violation could face denial, monitoring, or loss of federal recognition.
On the issue of school discipline, Trump repealed guidance first issued under President Obama that sought to reduce racial disparities in suspensions and expulsions. The original guidance was based on evidence that Black and disabled students faced disproportionately harsher punishments for similar infractions. Trump argued that the guidance created unsafe school environments and mandated unequal treatment.
A separate executive order targeted “disparate-impact liability,” a civil rights framework that treats policies as discriminatory if they lead to racially disparate outcomes, even if the policies themselves are neutral. Trump’s order declares this approach unconstitutional and asserts that it encourages reverse discrimination by forcing institutions to engineer equal outcomes rather than ensure equal opportunity.
In another order, Trump focused on revamping workforce development to support America’s industrial and technological resurgence. The Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Education were given 90 days to devise a strategy to realign education with employer demands, especially in skilled trades and high-tech industries.
The president also reversed a Biden-era initiative supporting HBCUs and ordered the dismantling of the HBCU and Minority Serving Institutions Advisory Council under the EPA. Instead, Trump called for building private-sector partnerships and creating new professional pipelines to enhance opportunities for students attending these institutions.
Finally, Trump reinstated strict foreign gift disclosure requirements for colleges and universities. He claimed that during his first term, federal investigations uncovered $6.5 billion in unreported foreign donations, which he said the Biden administration ignored. The new policy aims to restore oversight, protect intellectual property, and guard against foreign propaganda in academia.
Together, the executive orders amount to one of the most significant and ideologically distinct educational overhauls proposed in recent years. They reflect Trump’s broader goal of reshaping institutions in line with his vision of merit-based education, reduced federal oversight, and resistance to progressive cultural movements in schools and universities.
What comes next depends on how agencies implement the changes and whether legal challenges or resistance from educational institutions stall or reverse these controversial mandates.
