(The Daily Signal) – President Donald Trump signed an executive order Wednesday prohibiting federal funding of K-12 schools that promote critical race theory or radical gender ideology.
“Parents trust America’s schools to provide their children with a rigorous education and to instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible Nation and the values for which we stand,” the order says.
“In recent years, however, parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.”
This is in keeping with Trump’s campaign promise to defund any school that taught “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content.”
The secretary of education will have 90 days to lay out a strategy on how to end CRT and gender ideology lessons in schools. Trump nominated Linda McMahon as his education secretary. She has yet to be confirmed by the Senate.
The executive order will reinstate the 1776 Commission, which Trump created in 2020 to promote “patriotic education” through increased understanding of U.S. history and its founding principles.
Former President Joe Biden ended the commission within his first 100 days in office.
Hillsdale College President Larry P. Arnn served as chairman of the President’s Advisory 1776 Commission.
Trump ordered the U.S. attorney general to work with state attorneys general and local district attorneys to pursue legal action against teachers and school officials who attempt to “transition” children.
“In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics,” the order says. “In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed.”
“These practices not only erode critical thinking but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity,” adds the order.
This is Trump’s latest move in his war on diversity, equity, and inclusion and radical gender ideology initiatives promoted by the Biden-Harris administration.
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order prohibiting federal funding and support for irreversible child gender transition “mutilation.” On Monday, he signed an order prohibiting “gender radicalism” and eliminating DEI from the military.