After being ignored for the past four years, parents, grandparents, and concerned citizens across the country voted for a new direction for education in America. The pieces are now falling into place: both chambers will be led by the party that has made parental rights in education and school choice a cornerstone of their agenda. President Donald Trump will be returning to the White House with a clear mandate to finally disrupt the status quo at the Department of Education, with a mission to refocus education back to learning and away from the far-left, divisive agenda in classrooms.
One of his first education decisions was nominating Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education. McMahon has a proven track record of being a business leader who knows what it takes to fix inefficiencies in organizations and most importantly, deliver results.
Here’s how both Trump & McMahon can deliver on their priorities for parents and cement their legacy as the “Education Presidency”:
Make Girls Sports, Girls Sports Again
Title IX was originally established to provide girls and women with the same opportunity as boys and men. Passed in 1972, Title IX has afforded girls and women with incredible opportunities, both academically and athletically. But in 2024, the Biden-Harris administration completely dismantled the law by re-defining the word “sex” to include “gender identity” which allows: men to use women’s restrooms and locker rooms, men to compete in girls’ sports, and the suppression of freedom of speech on the controversial topic of gender identity (among other things).
Twenty-six states have sued to stop enforcement of the rewritten Title IX and the gutted regulation is effective in less than half of the union as of Thanksgiving 2024. Additionally, a Parents Defending Education poll from 2022 shows 71% of voters oppose letting boys compete on girls’ sports teams.
The Trump administration has already indicated this will be one of their top priorities and parents are excited about their plans to restore girls-only spaces; make girls sports fair, equal, and safe; and re-establish students’ first amendment rights.
Make Antisemitism Rare Again
Every American has seen the footage of the pro-Hamas and anti-Jewish protesters on college campuses defacing university property and holding academic buildings hostage. But not every American realizes that incidents of antisemitism and anti-Israel bias also occur in K-12 schools.
Schools have allowed teachers to hang antisemitic posters in school, students to physically intimidate a teacher who attended a pro-Israel rally into locking herself in her office, and curriculum to be used or created by pro-Hamas groups.
“Combating Antisemitism” is in the Trump plan to renew the pillars of American civilization and it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for parents to see the lowest rate of antisemitic incidents in K-12 (and higher ed) that there has ever been.
Make Parents Informed Again
Parents Defending Education maintains a list that details 1,143 school districts in the United States with policies that openly state that district personnel can or should keep a student’s transgender status hidden from parents. Frankly, this is unacceptable in any country, much less the United States of America.
This “parental exclusion” practice has gone so far as the State of California banning school districts from telling parents about a student’s transgender status.
Trump’s “Agenda 47” boldly proclaims “We trust Parents!” There is no better way to emphasize this than making sure that parents are always in the know about what is going on with their children at school, in every situation.
The Trump administration has laid out a clear path to leaving a transformative and enduring mark on K-12 schools. By restoring Title IX, combating the alarming rise of antisemitism, and reaffirming the right of parents to be informed, the Trump Department of Education can set a standard of excellence and accountability and truly “Make American Education Great Again.”
Paul Runko is a Digital Communications Specialist for Parents Defending Education. Based in Charleston, South Carolina, he is also a proud father of one.
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