On April 23, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order titled “Reinstating Common Sense School Discipline Policies.” This Executive Order aims to reform school disciplinary practices by eliminating the influence of race and “discriminatory equity ideology” on student disciplinary decisions.
In explaining the need for reform, the Order takes issues with a rescinded Department of Education (“DOE”) and Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Dear Colleague Letter from 2014, which suggested Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is violated if “disciplinary decisions ran afoul of a newly imposed disparate-impact framework under which race-neutral disciplinary policies, applied in an even-handed manner, may be improper if members of any racial groups are suspended, expelled, or referred to law enforcement at higher rates than others.” After the rescission of the 2014 Dear Colleague Letter, the DOE issued 2023 guidance that similarly aligned with the disparate-impact framework. The Order contends that states and schools have since implemented disciplinary practices based on racial characteristics, rather than objective behavior.
The Executive Order requires Education Secretary Linda McMahon, in consultation with Attorney General Pamela Bondi, to issue guidance regarding school discipline and district obligations to not engage in racial discrimination under Title VI within 30 days of the Order. It also requires that they coordinate with governors and state attorney generals within 60 days to prevent racial discrimination in school discipline as well as coordinate with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to submit a report “regarding the status of discriminatory equity-ideology-based school discipline and behavior modification techniques in American public education.”
This Order does not provide specific action steps for schools at this time, nor does it specifically define what behavior modification techniques and practices will be considered discriminatory equity ideology. However, as we wait on more detailed guidance from the DOE, schools may wish to begin a review of their current disciplinary practices to determine if there are any racially-based practices or policies that may require adjustment. Schools can anticipate that forthcoming guidance will focus on equal treatment of students in discipline based on the student’s action and not any race or demographic data. It is also likely that future student discipline data reported to the State, as well as the State’s actions regarding this data, may be impacted by this Order.
For Further Information: We will continue to monitor developments from the U.S. Department of Education and Ohio Department of Education & Workforce for forthcoming guidance and the impact it will have on school disciplinary practices. Please reach out to Lisa Woloszynek or any of the attorneys in Weston Hurd’s Education Law Group to discuss further. We would be happy to assist your administrative teams in navigating these complex challenges.
