As the presidential election approaches, several students, both current and past, are concerned about a conservative approach to education reforms.
The Republican Party has a long list of things it wants to change in American schools. One of its top priorities is to abolish the US Department of Education and establish a national “Parents’ Bill of Rights” to allow conservatives more control over what their children learn.
However, GOP members are divided on how a Republican president should improve the country’s education system.
One much-touted method to school reform is featured in a chapter of Project 2025, a 900-page political roadmap authored by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank. Despite the group’s deep ties to his government, former President Donald Trump, the party’s nominee and standard-bearer, has attempted to separate himself from the agenda, introducing his own, simpler version of a party program approved by delegates at the Republican National Convention last week.
There is still a big overlap between the two perspectives for transforming schools’ operations. They accuse colleges of liberal brainwashing. They criticize the excessive costs of higher education and prioritize the parent’s rights over those of children and educators. They oppose the idea of protecting LGBTQ+ students or supporting built-in protections for marginalized communities.
Though many of these plans are far from becoming a reality, both conservative programs would have real implications for millions of Americans. Project 2025 has also taken a significant role in the presidential race, with Democrats using its data to present an unfavorable picture of the reforms that conservatives propose for schools.
As the presidential election approaches and the country’s political climate becomes more volatile, students are increasingly concerned about how political fighting may affect their lives.
Lindsey Burke, the author of the Project 2025 educational agenda, claims that the federal government has abused its debt relief powers by prioritizing public sector jobs over private sector jobs and unfairly requiring taxpayers to pay for other people’s degrees.
Project 2025 advocates for the full removal of regulations meant to improve racial disparities in special education. It also proposes that Education Department officials stop enforcing the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This landmark federal law guarantees students with disabilities the right to a “free appropriate public education” and instead delegates the responsibility to the Department of Health and Human Services.
