Trump moves to tackle school discipline, but advocates divided on federal approach to classroom issue

President Trump is shining a spotlight on the issue of school discipline, which is closely related to the growing problems of learning loss and falling test scores, though it's unclear how much can be done about classroom behavior from the federal level. 

As part of a recent list of moves on education, Trump signed an executive order to create new federal school discipline guidance for K-12 institutions, with those in school leadership positions saying the problem has grown steadily worse since the 2020 pandemic.  

While parents and educators agree something needs to be done, satisfying solutions for all parties are hard to find. 

“This is long overdue,” said Neeraja Deshpande, policy analyst and engagement coordinator at Independent Women.  

“I see this as a really good sign, that they're really bluntly saying that discipline needs to come back in America schools, because it's good for students, for teachers — it's honestly best for the most disadvantaged students,” she added.  

The executive order from Trump, who has long talked about a need to get "tough" in U.S. schools, requires Education Secretary Linda McMahon and the attorney general to team up and create guidance regarding school discipline, along with coordinating with state officials on “the prevention of racial discrimination in the application of school discipline.” 

Since the pandemic and its related school closures, surveys year after year have shown concerns about student behavior in the classroom.  

Earlier this year, 48 percent of educators and school leaders said student behavior was a lot worse now than before the pandemic, according to the EdWeek Research Center. In 2023, about one-third of educators felt that way.  

In his order, Trump blamed the policies of former Presidents Obama and Biden for the increase in behavioral issues, saying the problem started with Obama in 2014 when a “Dear Colleague” letter was sent out warning schools they could be in violation of Title IX if more official punishments are handed out to students of one particular race or ethnicity.  

That 11-year-old letter pointed out Black students are three times more likely than White students to be expelled or suspended. 

“The Departments recognize that disparities in student discipline rates in a school or district may be caused by a range of factors. However, research suggests that the substantial racial disparities of the kind reflected in the CRDC [Civil Rights Data Collection] data are not explained by more frequent or more serious misbehavior by students of color,” it said.  

Although Trump rescinded that letter during his first presidency, the Biden administration resurfaced similar concerns back in 2023.  

Why exactly the pandemic so inflamed school disciplinary issues is a subject of debate, but experts agree that learning loss and behavioral problems have become entwined in a compounding spiral: Falling test scores and mental health issues lead to more misbehavior, and back again.

Critics of Trump's order say it's just another way to undermine diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and that the real way to improve discipline in schools is to target those test scores, chronic absenteeism and student mental health.

"It's just about attacking DEI. It's very short-sighted. And frankly, it's going to disproportionately impact kids that are in low-income schools, that don't have resources, children of color that are always disproportionately impacted by disciplinary processes,” said Keri Rodrigues, the president of the National Parents Union. 

“Unfortunately, this is just more political games and showmanship when we actually need to have some evidence-backed, data-driven solutions for kids to help them during what is a very unstable and difficult time,” Rodrigues added. 

While the federal government has little direct control over classroom procedures, the executive order signals it will not apply Title IX investigations in the same way against school discipline outcomes.  

“[U]nder 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,” McMahon said after Trump signed the executive order.  

Kendra Jenkins, a middle school assistant principal in Georgia, told The Hill that while the federal government can offer guidance, actually addressing student behavior will really fall on a local level.  

When thinking about the concerns of racism in school discipline, Jenkins said, schools "do look at that to see where we are ... disproportionate, but we also look at what are the incidences.” 

She said there was definitely an increase in misbehavior at her school since the pandemic but that educators addressed it through socio-emotional tools and have seen the number of discipline referrals go down.  

“We definitely have focused on building relationships and strengthening our culture to help our kids,” Jenkins said.  

Those in favor of the Trump administration’s approach say the focus on race in school discipline practices has done a disserve to students.  

Policies by past presidents were “put forward in the name of anti-racism and of non-discrimination. And what actually ended up happening was that the schools that became the most chaotic were often the ones with the most number of minority students, especially when you look at the sheer number of school closures during COVID, and how COVID worsened student behavior,” said Deshpande. 

“So you know what ends up happening is that when teachers feel like they can't discipline students, the students suffer and the teachers suffer,” she added.