Trump threatens to use school funding to pay restitutions to ‘victims of DEI’

Donald Trump’s big plans for reshaping education in the United States include fining schools for implementing and engaging in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and using seized funds as restitution for “victims” of DEI policies.

On the campaign trail, the now-president-elect appealed to people who see progressive changes in education as “indoctrination” of children by promising to end all diversity programs that are meant to promote and maintain fair treatment among people who historically are underrepresented or discriminated against.

“Schools that persist in explicit unlawful discrimination under the guise of equity will not only have their endowment taxed, but through budget reconciliation, I will advance a measure to have them fined up to the entire amount of their endowment,” Trump said in a video posted in July.

Trump’s promise appeals directly to critics of DEI programs that claim they are discriminatory toward other groups of people, particularly white people, reports The Grio.

In his video, Trump added that some seized school funds would then be used “as restitution for victims of these illegal and unjust policies.”

It’s part of the president-elect’s larger goal to dismantle federal anti-discrimination policies meant to protect students of all genders, sexes, races, sexual orientations, ethnicities, religions and disabilities– something Trump and others have deemed a form of indoctrination.

Supporters of DEI programs have argued that they fulfill their intended purpose and do not cause the harm that opponents claim.

In a post on X, the civil rights organization the NAACP said DEI programs “are key to ensuring equal opportunity” for all students.

“We must defend diversity, equity, and inclusion to ensure every child succeeds. The fight for justice starts in the classroom, and we won’t allow rhetoric to roll back progress,” the NACCP wrote.

In recent years, conservative parents have taken a stand against revisionist curricula and inclusive policies. It’s led to the parental rights movement in which parents demand to have more authority over their children’s curriculum and lesson plans.

Yet, despite the Department of Education (DoE) playing a limited role in public school education throughout the country, Trump and others have capitalized on the movement to promise they will stop the federal government from intervening in children’s education.

Trump has teased he will try to get rid of the DoE but it’s unlikely that will occur as he would need Congressional approval. Though some Republicans support the idea, it would require a lot of convincing for others.

Miguel Cardona, the current Secretary of the DoE, wrote on X, “If you support eliminating the Department of Education, you do not support our students. Period.”

States and local governments control most of the rules when it comes to education and provide most of the funding.

The main role of the federal government is to provide funding, primarily for K-12 schools, and oversee the federal student loan plan, according to the DoE. The government also enforces civil rights laws.

Overall it is a relatively small role, but one that opponents of dismantling the department argue is a vital one that, if revoked, would vastly hurt schools.