Sacramento, CA – Officials at the California Department of Education are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s latest executive order, which aims to penalize schools for teaching lessons on race, gender, or politics. The order directs the Secretary of Education to develop a strategy to cut federal funding to schools accused of engaging in “indoctrination”—a move California officials argue is both illegal and unconstitutional.
The directive is part of a broader education agenda laid out by Trump, which also includes expanding school voucher programs and diverting public funds to private and faith-based institutions. Critics say the policy is a thinly veiled attempt to force conservative ideology into classrooms while undermining public education.
In a strongly worded statement posted Wednesday, California officials warned that Trump’s order has no legal standing. “President Trump signed an executive order today that does nothing but require the Secretary of Education to determine what federal education funds can legally be rescinded as a penalty for teaching curricula that President Trump finds objectionable,” the statement read.
“We can give the Trump Administration that answer right now: nothing. It is against federal law for the White House to dictate what educators can and cannot teach by threatening to defund essential public services for students.” California officials further emphasized that federal law prevents any administration from using funding as a tool to enforce ideological shifts in public school curricula.
“School curriculum should not vacillate back and forth depending on the occupant of the White House, which is why federal law already prohibits the federal government from leveraging grants to mandate specific instructional content in schools,” the statement continued.
Trump’s executive order is the latest move in his ongoing battle against what he calls “woke indoctrination” in schools. For months, he has vowed to support right-wing activists in their push to weaken or even eliminate the Department of Education, an agency responsible for enforcing federal education policies and protecting students’ civil rights.
California, one of the nation’s largest and most influential education systems, has frequently clashed with Trump over issues of educational policy and civil rights enforcement. This latest standoff is expected to trigger legal battles, as education leaders and civil rights groups prepare to challenge any federal attempt to withhold funding from public schools based on curriculum content.
As the debate intensifies, school districts across the country may face uncertainty over how Trump’s order will be enforced and whether states will follow California’s lead in resisting federal overreach into classrooms.