On Wednesday, April 23, 2025, President Donald Trump signed six Education Executive Orders that signal a major shift in federal education policy. These directives emphasize transparency, merit-based systems, the rollback of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and a renewed focus on workforce readiness and national competitiveness.
These orders have already sparked vigorous debate among educators, policymakers, and advocacy groups, raising questions about their long-term implications for equity, institutional autonomy, and academic freedom. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon issued statements supporting each measure, outlining the administration’s rationale and vision.
Below is a summary of each executive order, accompanied by McMahon’s commentary and a link to the corresponding White House Fact Sheet.
Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence At American Universities
This executive order intensifies oversight of foreign funding in U.S. higher education by mandating strict enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires institutions to disclose foreign gifts and contracts totaling $250,000 or more. It directs the Department of Education, in coordination with the Department of Justice, to conduct audits and investigations to ensure compliance, and to reverse any prior policies that allowed for secrecy regarding foreign contributions. Universities failing to comply may face penalties, including the loss of federal funding, as the administration seeks to protect academic integrity and national security from undue foreign influence.
- Statement from Linda McMahon:
“Colleges and universities have a legal duty to report foreign gifts and contracts and, in President Trump’s first term, the Department of Education held them to it. Unfortunately, in the last four years, the Biden Administration undermined the structures the President built to do this critical work, allowing nations like China and Qatar to funnel billions of dollars to U.S. universities with little to no oversight. This financial infiltration enabled foreign governments to steal taxpayer-funded intellectual property and reshape how our elite campuses teach about Israel and the Middle East.
President Trump’s Executive Order will safeguard American interests on campus and protect students. The Department of Education will ‘follow the money,’ put a stop to malign foreign infiltration, secure the research enterprise, and restore American campuses to marketplaces of ideas rather than hosts for foreign propaganda.”
Reforming Accreditation To Strengthen Higher Education
This executive order seeks to overhaul the higher education accreditation system by holding accrediting bodies accountable for student outcomes and eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) mandates. It criticizes accreditors for approving institutions with low graduation rates and programs that leave students with significant debt and poor job prospects. The Department of Education and the Department of Justice are instructed to monitor, suspend, or terminate recognition of accreditors that impose DEI-based standards or violate federal civil rights laws. Additionally, it encourages the entry of new accrediting organizations to foster competition and ensure that accreditation focuses on academic quality and return on investment rather than ideological criteria.
- Statement from Linda McMahon:
“America’s higher education accreditation system is broken. A small number of institutional accreditors – private, nongovernment entities – decide which institutions and their programs qualify to receive over $100 billion annually in Pell Grants, federal student loans, and other taxpayer-subsidized higher education funding. The existing accreditation monopoly raises costs, contributes to the ever-increasing tuition and fees faced by American families, favors legacy four-year institutions, blocks new accreditors from the market, interferes with states’ governing board decisions, and pushes universities in ideological directions when they should be focused on core subjects. The result is more bureaucracy, less innovation, sprawling DEI administrative complexes, and burdensome oversight by unaccountable accreditors rather than state education leaders and duly appointed governing board members.
President Trump’s Executive Order will bring long-overdue change by accelerating the recognition of new accreditors and refocusing existing accreditors on helping member institutions improve the student outcomes families care most about. Instead of pushing schools to adopt a divisive DEI ideology, accreditors should be focused on helping schools improve graduation rates and graduates’ performance in the labor market. The Department of Education will create a competitive marketplace of higher education accreditors, which will give colleges and universities incentives and support to focus on lowering college costs, fostering innovation, and delivering a high-quality postsecondary education.”
White House Initiative To Promote Excellence And Innovation At Historically Black Colleges And Universities (HBCUs)
This executive order establishes the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), aiming to strengthen these institutions through increased private-sector involvement and enhanced federal collaboration. It focuses on improving institutional infrastructure, financial stability, and professional development opportunities for students in high-demand sectors like technology and healthcare. Additionally, the initiative seeks to boost student success and retention by addressing college affordability, degree attainment, and campus modernization, while also fostering partnerships to build pipelines for prospective HBCU students. A presidentially appointed advisory board will guide these efforts, ensuring that HBCUs continue to serve as vital engines of educational excellence and economic opportunity.
- Statement from Linda McMahon:
“The White House initiative highlighted today reinforces President Trump’s commitment to supporting and elevating America’s HBCUs. The Department will work with the Initiative and HBCUs to expand partnerships and share best practices for institutions to become hubs of opportunity and economic engines for local industries and employers. I am eager to elevate and support America’s HBCUs, including in my role on the President’s Board of Advisors for the White House Initiative on HBCUs.”
Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education For American Youth
This executive order aims to expand access to AI education across all levels of learning, emphasizing early exposure in K–12 schools, professional development for educators, and support for lifelong learners. It establishes a White House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence Education, which includes representatives from key federal agencies, to coordinate national efforts in AI literacy. By fostering collaboration between educators, industry leaders, and government, the initiative seeks to prepare Americans for an AI-driven future and maintain U.S. leadership in technological innovation.
- Statement from Linda McMahon:
“Education should prepare students for success in life, which means that American classrooms must better align their activities to meet the demands of accelerating innovation and a rapidly changing workforce. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) reshapes every industrial sector, it is vitally important that the next generation of students is prepared to leverage this technology in all aspects of their professional lives. The Trump Administration will lead the way in training our educators to foster early and responsible AI education in our classrooms to keep up American leadership in the global economy”
Preparing Americans For High-Paying Skilled Trade Jobs Of The Future
This executive order aims to revitalize America’s skilled trades by overhauling federal workforce development programs . It mandates a comprehensive review of existing initiatives to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for consolidation, with a focus on integrating systems and realigning resources to meet the demands of emerging industries. A key objective is to expand Registered Apprenticeships, targeting over one million new active apprenticeships annually, particularly in high-growth sectors such as those driven by artificial intelligence. The order also emphasizes the importance of alternative credentials to four-year degrees, aiming to equip workers with the skills necessary for high-paying, in-demand jobs.
- Statement from Linda McMahon:
“Today’s Executive Order is a significant step in ensuring every American can live their American Dream. Not every student needs to attend a four-year university to enter a family-sustaining career. The Trump Administration will support communities across the country that are offering career-aligned programs like apprenticeships and dual enrollment to best meet the needs of their workforce. Our goal is to build on their success and align resources across the country to equip the next generation of American workers.”
Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies
This executive order revokes prior federal guidance that considered racial disparities in school discipline, arguing that such policies pressured schools to overlook misconduct to avoid discrimination claims. It mandates that discipline be based strictly on individual behavior rather than statistical disparities among racial groups. The Department of Education, in coordination with the Attorney General, is instructed to issue new guidance reinforcing this approach, and federal support for organizations promoting equity-based disciplinary frameworks is to be re-evaluated.
- Statement from Linda McMahon:
“A student’s success in adulthood starts with how they perform in a classroom, and we should teach our kids to discern right and wrong from a young age. Yet, under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline. Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion. Today, President Trump is taking historic and commonsense action to boost school safety standards. Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.”