Trump signs education executive orders targeting AI, ‘woke’ ideology, and workforce development

President Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders on April 23 aimed at overhauling key aspects of U.S. education policy. The wide-ranging actions touch nearly every level of education — from K–12 classrooms to higher education institutions — and seek to advance workforce readiness while scaling back what the administration calls “ideological overreach.”

Boosting AI Education and Certification Programs

One of the centerpiece executive orders titled, “Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth,” focuses on integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into K–12 education. The order tasks the U.S. Departments of Education and Labor with expanding AI courses and certification programs for high school students, as well as working with states to promote AI education.

Trump also directed the Education Department to prioritize AI in teacher training grant programs, the National Science Foundation to ramp up AI education research, and the Labor Department to expand AI-related apprenticeships.

“This is a big deal, because AI seems to be where it’s at,” Trump said from the Oval Office.

Cracking Down on ‘Woke’ College Accreditation

Another executive order, “Reforming Accreditation to Strengthen Higher Education,” targets the college accreditation process, criticizing what the administration labels as “discriminatory” diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) standards. The measure empowers the Departments of Justice and Education to investigate accreditors and enforce federal civil rights laws.

The White House said it will pursue “denial, monitoring, suspension, or termination of accreditation recognition” for agencies that fail to meet performance benchmarks or are found to impose ideological requirements.

“Accreditors have also abused their authority by imposing discriminatory diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)-based standards, violating Federal law,” the White House news release says.

Rolling Back Guidance on Racial Bias in School Discipline

A third executive order titled “Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies” reverses Obama-era school discipline guidance aimed at addressing racial disparities in suspensions and expulsions. The 2014 guidance had urged schools to assess whether students of color were being unfairly targeted under neutral-sounding policies.

The consequences harmed students and schools.  A 2018 report from the Federal Commission on School Safety (Commission) noted evidence that, because of the 2014 letter, “schools ignored or covered up — rather than disciplined — student misconduct in order to avoid any purported racial disparity in discipline numbers that might catch the eye of the federal government.”  As a result, students who should have been suspended or expelled for dangerous behavior remained in the classroom, making all students less safe. 

Critics of the policy claimed it led to lax discipline in schools, which some blamed for increased classroom disruptions and even violence. Trump’s new directive asserts that discipline decisions should be based strictly on student behavior.

Challenging Disparate Impact Liability

Another significant policy shift is the executive order titled “Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy,” which targets’ disparate-impact liability,” a legal concept that holds policies leading to uneven outcomes by race or gender may be discriminatory, even if not explicitly so. Codified in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this concept holds agencies accountable for practices that have an outsized discriminatory effect on protected groups, even when there is no intent to discriminate. 

Trump’s executive order argues the concept undermines equal protection by encouraging discrimination in the name of equity:

“On a practical level, disparate-impact liability has hindered businesses from making hiring and other employment decisions based on merit and skill, their needs, or the needs of their customers because of the specter that such a process might lead to disparate outcomes, and thus disparate-impact lawsuits,” the order reads.

The president’s actions also tell federal agencies to find and cancel rules based on disparate impact, and to review any current lawsuits or agreements tied to those claims. It also asks them to work with the attorney general and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to change how Title VI and Title VII are interpreted.

The order supports Trump’s goal of building a “colorblind” society focused on merit.

Workforce Development and Apprenticeships

In an executive order titled “Preparing Americans for High Paying Skilled Trade Jobs of the Future“, aimed at reindustrialization and economic competitiveness, another order directs the Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Education to deliver a report within 90 days on strategies to bolster skilled trades and technical training. The goal is to match workforce development programs to the specific needs of American employers.

“The objective is to fully equip the American worker to produce world-class products and implement world-leading technologies,” the White House press release read.

New Direction for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

Trump also signed an executive order titled “White House Initiative to Promote Excellence and Innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities“, affirming the importance of HBCUs and pledging to expand their reach through private-sector partnerships, professional development, and a board of advisors.

 The Board shall fulfill the mission and functions established by, shall have the structure set forth in, and shall in all other respects be subject to the provisions of section 5 of the HBCU PARTNERS Act (20 U.S.C. 1063e).  The Board shall include representatives of a variety of sectors, such as philanthropy, education, business, finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, and private foundations, and current HBCU presidents.  

While the order praises HBCUs as “beacons of educational excellence,” it also revokes a Biden-era initiative and directs the EPA to dissolve the HBCU and Minority Serving Institutions Advisory Council.

Transparency on Foreign Gifts to Universities

The seventh executive order, titled “Transparency Regarding Foreign Influence at American Universities,” calls for stricter disclosure of foreign funding to colleges and universities. The White House claims that during Trump’s first term, investigations led to $6.5 billion in previously undisclosed foreign gifts being reported — efforts the administration says the Biden team abandoned.

“It is the policy of my Administration to end the secrecy surrounding foreign funds in American educational institutions,” the order states, aiming to “protect the marketplace of ideas from propaganda sponsored by foreign governments.”