President Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at “ending radical indoctrination in K-12 schooling” by barring federal funds from institutions that teach Critical Race Theory (CRT) or gender ideology.
“Parents trust America’s schools to provide their children with a rigorous education and to instill a patriotic admiration for our incredible Nation and the values for which we stand,” Trump wrote in the order. “In recent years, however, parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.”
Trump, 78, argued that students in schools teaching CRT and promoting transgenderism “are forced to accept these ideologies without question or critical examination.”
“In many cases, innocent children are compelled to adopt identities as either victims or oppressors solely based on their skin color and other immutable characteristics,” the president added. “In other instances, young men and women are made to question whether they were born in the wrong body and whether to view their parents and their reality as enemies to be blamed.”
“These practices not only erode critical thinking but also sow division, confusion, and distrust, which undermine the very foundations of personal identity and family unity.”
The president asserted that the CRT concepts of “White Privilege” and “unconscious bias” promote “racial discrimination” and undermine “national unity.”
Meanwhile, promoting transgenderism – through the use of preferred pronouns, referring to pupils as “nonbinary” and allowing students to use facilities designated for persons of the opposite sex – steers children “toward surgical and chemical mutilation without parental consent or involvement” and violates several federal statutes, Trump argued.
“My Administration will enforce the law to ensure that recipients of Federal funds providing K-12 education comply with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination in various contexts and protecting parental rights,” he declared.
Trump’s order mirrors laws and executive actions put in place in states like Florida and Virginia in an attempt to outlaw classroom lessons about race and gender.
The order directs government officials to identify and slash federal contracts and grants that support CRT and transgenderism in K-12 schools as well as related teacher training, employment and certification programs.
Trump also directed the attorney general to work with state and local authorities to “file appropriate actions” against teachers and school officials “unlawfully facilitating” the gender transition of minors.
The president further called on his secretaries of defense, education, health and human services to consult with the attorney general’s office to produce an “Ending Indoctrination Strategy” within 90 days.
