How Could Trump Actions On Education Affect CT Schools And Students?

This article first appeared on CT Mirror

Since the first days of President Donald Trump’s second term, education leaders in Connecticut have watched as the presidential administration rolled out a series of executive orders, funding cuts and changes to federal policy — many of which represent sharp turns for the students, schools and districts they oversee.

Connecticut lawmakers have been vocal about their fears of the worst case scenario: a reduction or outright elimination of the $550 million in federal funding the state relies on to support public K-12 education.

For now, the funding remains mostly intact. But several of Trump’s actions to date — on things like DEI, transgender students and campus protests — threaten federal funding reductions if schools and universities don’t comply.

Here’s what we know so far.

Diversity, equity and inclusion

During President Trump’s first week in office, he issued an order banning DEI across federal agencies. The following week, the president issued an executive order to eliminate “discriminatory treatment and indoctrination, including based on gender ideology and discriminatory equity ideology” in K-12 schools, calling for federal funding reductions for schools that don’t comply.

Earlier this month, the issue came to a head when the Department of Education sent a letter calling on state education officials across the country to “certify their compliance with their anti-discrimination obligations in order to continue receiving federal financial assistance.” At the moment, it remains unclear how the Connecticut Department of Education will respond to the request or whether Connecticut will face federal cuts.

The Defense Department has also halted race-conscious admissions at military academies, including the Coast Guard Academy in New London. In February, the Education Department issued a letter threatening to withhold funding from education institutions that take race into account in admissions and programming. In mid-March, Yale University was among dozens of colleges and universities listed in an Education Department announcement alleging the schools engaged in exclusionary practices in graduate admissions.

Dismantling the department

In early March, the Education Department announced it would reduce its ranks by roughly half. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong joined a group of states to sue the administration over the staff cuts, and the case is pending.

On March 20, President Trump signed an executive order calling for the dismantling of the Education Department. Teachers unions quickly sued to block the order and members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation have vowed to take action. Trump has said the administration of student loans would be shifted to the Small Business Administration and special needs programs would be moved to the Department of Health and Human Services.

COVID-era funding

Last year, school districts across the country applied for extensions to spend the last remaining dollars of federal COVID-19 relief funding by March 2026 instead of its original deadline of January 2025. But in late March, the Trump administration froze that funding.

Connecticut’s last $14 million was earmarked mostly for programs within the state Department of Education, with just over $6 million of the funds already granted to roughly two dozen K-12 school districts. New London and Waterbury were expected to receive the bulk of those dollars.

The administration has also said it intends to cut funding for schools and universities that require students to be vaccinated against COVID.

Transgender students

During his first week in office, President Trump issued an order ending Title IX protections for transgender students. The following week, the Education Department complied, undoing rules set during the Biden administration. The Trump administration later issued an executive order banning transgender women and girls from competing in women’s sports. Institutions that don’t abide by the ban could see their funding cut, the administration has said.

In late March, the department sent a letter to states threatening to withhold federal funding if parents were not allowed to review student records, in particular any related to the student’s gender identity. In Connecticut, education advocates are seeking stronger protections for transgender students in the wake of the Trump administration’s actions.

Immigration enforcement

In January, the president announced that officers with the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protections agencies could make arrests at schools, churches and hospitals — places that had long been considered “sensitive locations,” and barred from immigration enforcement.

Connecticut education officials released guidance to K-12 public schools on how local district leaders should respond to “immigration activities,” including in cases where federal immigration officers request student information or come onto school property.

School meals

Millions of dollars in anticipated funding that Connecticut schools and food banks planned to use to purchase fresh food from local farmers was canceled. The U.S. Department of Agriculture informed state agencies it would no longer run the pair of programs that spend $1 billion each year nationally: the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program and the Local Food for Schools program.

Campus protests

In late January, the president pledged to cancel student visas of “all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses.” Weeks later, the Education Department warned 60 colleges and universities they could face repercussions if they fail “to protect Jewish students on campus.” Yale University was among the schools listed on the department’s announcement. Several international students who participated in protests have been detained.