The Trump administration is using agencies other than the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) to implement its agenda in schools, sometimes circumventing typical rulemaking procedures that would allow school districts months to give feedback on and prepare for policy changes before they occur. The use of other agencies to set or enforce education policy marks a significant shift from typical K-12 policymaking.
An example of this change in procedure is a policy change from the U.S. Department of Energy that would undo some students’ protections related to sex discrimination under Title IX, disability discrimination under Section 504 and racial discrimination under Title VI. The changes would only apply to schools receiving Energy Department funds, as opposed to public schools nationwide, which would have been the case had the rules come from the USDE. The Energy Department distributed just over $160 million to 28 schools in fiscal year 2025 and also provides over $2.5 billion annually to more than 300 colleges and universities to fund research.
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