Donald Trump Restores Common Sense Discipline, Ends Race-Based School Policies [WATCH]

President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Wednesday revoking Obama-Biden era school discipline guidelines that required public schools to base disciplinary decisions in part on students’ race, as reported by the Gateway Pundit.

The order, titled “Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies,” is part of a broader series of actions focused on education reform.

The 2014 guidance from the Department of Justice and Department of Education warned school districts that disciplining certain racial groups more frequently than others could be considered a civil rights violation, putting schools at risk of losing federal funding.

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Critics argued that the policy led to dangerous classroom environments by pressuring schools to ignore or downplay student misconduct in the name of racial equity.

The Trump administration previously rescinded the 2014 policy in 2018, following findings from the Federal Commission on School Safety.

The Commission concluded that “schools ignored or covered up — rather than disciplined — student misconduct in order to avoid any purported racial disparity in discipline numbers.” The Biden administration reimposed the policy in 2023.

President Trump’s new order states:

“The Federal Government will no longer tolerate known risks to children’s safety and well-being in the classroom that result from the application of school discipline based on discriminatory and unlawful ‘equity’ ideology.”

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It adds that discipline must be based on objective behavior, not race-based metrics.

Under the order, the Secretary of Education and the Attorney General are instructed to issue updated guidance to local and state education agencies within 30 days, clarifying that discipline policies must comply with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act without engaging in racial discrimination.

The Secretary of Education is also directed to take corrective action against any state or local agencies that fail to meet these legal requirements.

Staff Secretary Will Sharf, who presented the order, explained that the previous policy “made it almost impossible for schools to enforce adequate disciplinary policies,” focusing on critical race theory and diversity initiatives rather than student safety.

Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who was present at the signing, stated, “It gives teachers the ability now to have discipline in their classroom and discipline the person who is being disruptive. We took that away.”

Also present was a North Carolina educator who has spent the past eight years advocating for safer public schools.

She referenced three students—Austin Metcalf, Serenity Baker, and Nahzir Taylor—who she said should have been present at the signing but were victims of school-related violence in Charlotte.

One of them, Nahzir Taylor, was shot in the back while getting off a school bus after being mistakenly linked to a brawl at school.

“I spoke at the RNC, and I told millions that Donald Trump and his administration was going to make schools great again,” the educator said. “And I feel that we’re on the right path.”

JUST IN: President Trump signs an executive order making it easier for teachers to discipline students

THANK GOD!

Out children deserve a safe, orderly environment. Democrats and DEI have prevented that for far too long. pic.twitter.com/Y6UQKovYgi

— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 23, 2025

President Trump signed six additional education-related executive orders the same day, addressing areas such as DEI policies, artificial intelligence in education, and reforms in higher education.

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