Is this what you expected from a second Trump presidency? January has been one of the most politically consequential and astonishing months that I can remember. Some days it feels like I just want to grab some popcorn and curl up in front of my news feed! But amid the spectacle there is also a temptation to focus on the things of earth.
The inauguration of Donald Trump has led to seismic shifts in our republic. What does that mean for education and for those serving Christ in our public schools? We’ll get to that, but first, some celebration is in order…
We won the Title IX case! Thanks be to God for this victory for educators, students, and families. Back in May, Christian Educators joined a lawsuit with six states and a high school female athlete to challenge the Biden administration’s illegal rewrite of Title IX—the historic law passed in 1972 to prohibit sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funds.
Over the last several years, Biden’s Department of Education (DOE) was busy using the administrative rulemaking process to insert “gender identity” into their official interpretation of Title IX. As a result, students who express a “gender identity” inconsistent with their sex would have likely been given access to sex-specific private places like restrooms, locker rooms, accommodations on overnight field trips, and athletic teams. Also, the rules would likely have required educators to address students by names and pronouns inconsistent with their sex. Educators who have sincerely held philosophical and religious objections to these policies could have been forced to violate their consciences or lose their jobs.
At Christian Educators, we fought this every step of the way. After the rule was proposed, we submitted a comment opposing the rule and asked our members to submit comments as well. When the rule was published in late April, we joined the lawsuit against it with the help of our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom. In June, we won an injunction against the rule taking effect. In August, our injunction was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. Then on January 9, federal District Court Judge Danny Reeves of Kentucky issued a final ruling, wiping away the Biden administration Title IX rules in all 50 states!
What does this mean? While it does not affect states or school districts who already have laws or policies recognizing “gender identity,” it does mean that states and districts that want to maintain sane policies on gender will not have the enormous pressure of the federal government attempting to coerce them to do otherwise.
But this case was just the beginning of an astonishing u-turn in federal education policy. Eleven days after that court ruling, Donald Trump was inaugurated as our 47th president—becoming only the second president in history to serve non-consecutive terms (shout out to Grover Cleveland!).
Since then, we have witnessed a flurry of executive orders and actions that have already profoundly shaped the nation and our common future, and at an unprecedented pace.
The Trump administration took significant actions on…
Gender
On the first day of his presidency, Trump signed an executive order that forcefully declared, “It is the policy of the United States to recognize two sexes, male and female,” and that “‘gender identity’ reflects a fully internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from biological reality and sex and existing on an infinite continuum, that does not provide a meaningful basis for identification and cannot be recognized as a replacement for sex.” Wow.
So what happens next? Our victory in the Title IX case means that Trump does not have to spend 2-3 years seeking to replace the Biden rules with new rules of his own, clearing the way for enforcement of what Title IX is supposed to do—protect women and girls. Instead of attempting to coerce schools to implement “transgender” policies, the Trump administration may decide to go hard in the opposite direction: pursuing enforcement action against schools who deny rights and protections to women and girls by allowing males access to their sports teams, locker rooms and bathrooms, etc. If these states and school districts do not repent and continue abusing kids by enabling gender confusion, I do pray that they lose federal funding. But frankly, that is not punishment enough for what some educators have done to kids.
But Trump wasn’t done on day one. On Tuesday, he issued another executive order to protect minors from the Orwellian-termed “gender-affirming care.” The order calls the medical transitioning of minors “a dangerous trend [that] will be a stain on our Nation’s history,” and furthermore that transgender medical practice relies on “junk science.” Exactly. We are finally waking up to what so many European nations have already figured out.
May the Lord bring needed sanity and speedy deliverance to the millions of American children who are trapped in states and school districts espousing the falsehoods of gender ideology.
DEI
The Trump administration has also moved quickly to dismantle diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government, stating that they have enabled “shameful discrimination.”
Though we are still waiting confirmation of a new Secretary of Education, nonetheless the DOE has already:
- removed hundreds of DEI guidance documents, reports, and training materials
- placed employees responsible for DEI initiatives on paid leave
- cancelled DEI training and service contracts
Inappropriate Library Materials
One battleground within the larger culture war over LGBTQ issues in our nation has been the intrusion of sexually explicit and even pornographic content into our school libraries. As parents have objected and seen certain titles removed, their efforts have been labeled as “book bans” by opponents. In response, President Biden went so far as to appoint a “book ban coordinator” within the DOE Office of Civil Rights (OCR).
On Friday, the OCR announced that they:
- dismissed 11 complaints about “book bans”
- will no longer employ a “book ban coordinator”
- rescinded guidance suggesting that the “removal of age-inappropriate books from its libraries may violate civil rights laws.”
The spurious “book banning” trope is dead, at least as far as the DOE is concerned.
Illegal Immigration
Perhaps no issue has dominated the news cycle since Trump’s inauguration like illegal immigration. Over 4,500 arrests of suspected illegal immigrants have been made since January 20, many in raids focusing on large cities like New York and Chicago, and mainly targeting gang members and others who have committed crimes in the U.S.
The Trump administration has indicated that it will no longer avoid “sensitive” places like churches and schools during immigration enforcement. To date, there is no credible report of ICE enforcement at a school, though there was a mistaken report of such in Chicago. But anecdotal reports suggest that many immigrant families are keeping kids home from school out of fear.
As I wrote about this issue previously, Christian educators may find themselves feeling caught between the high calling to love our students regardless of their immigration status and the desire to have a reasonable and secure immigration system. While I don’t believe we will see significant ICE enforcement in schools, nonetheless I suspect many of us will lose students and we may not know exactly why or where they went. So let’s be sure to share God’s love with our students as led by the Spirit and as often as we can, not taking their presence for granted.
Finally, just as I was putting the final touches on this column, the President announced yet another executive order: “Ending Radical Indoctrination In K-12 Schooling.” This refreshing and thoughtful order gives increased weight to my conjecture above that Trump may attempt to aggressively use Title IX to defund schools who, led by DEI efforts and gender ideology, find themselves actually discriminating against the students they are charged to protect.
What lessons can we draw from these unprecedented times?
First, understand that these executive orders are not law, but are subject to lawsuits, adverse court rulings, and being overruled by Congress. But they do signal clear intent.
Second, let’s remember that political wins and losses aren’t the definition of success, as often four years later the next president turns it all upside down. Let’s keep our focus on our King, who invites us to abide with him and demonstrate His kingdom to all those He brings to us, including those on the left and the right, the gender confused or the illegal immigrant. When we lay down the impossible burden of fabricating an ideal world through political effort and simply trust the Spirit to lead us each day—leaving the results to Him—we experience the freedom that brings joy.
David Schmus is the Executive Director of Christian Educators.
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Free to Teach is written to inform, encourage, and inspire Christian educators serving in our public schools. It should not be construed as legal advice provided by an attorney.
5 Responses
The Republican attack on DEI is sadly misguided and subliminally racist and misogynistic in nature. It’s disappointing that you highlight and celebrate it so much here in your newsletter/website.
Brad, thanks for your reply. I personally believe it is the role of the government to be colorblind in enforcing the law while it is the job of the church, families, and individuals to extend the love of Christ to all those we can, making extra effort to love across the racial, gender, and cultural lines that can divide us. We may disagree on that, and that’s ok, but I do want to let know that my column is not an official statement of CE, as I explained in my first Free to Teach. https://christianeducators.org/whatsnew/free-to-teach-august-2023/.
Obviously our participation in the Title IX lawsuit did demonstrate our “official” views on the gender issue. But generally, we hesitate to get involved in public policy issues for several reasons, including fulfilling our specific mission/vision, respecting the diversity of views of our members, and to walk with integrity in terms of our 501c3 status.
My career took a drastic turn in the fall of 2023. I left the education field by having some issues come up that they wanted me to just resign. I said I would not and the school board fired me. When I was asked to attend a meeting with the principal, also a Human Resource director was there and I knew it didn’t matter what I said, they had made up their mind I had to go.
so in the past tell with some depression and found myself back in that hole.
Last summer I landed on my feet at a position driving cars for a auction company, and the stress is lower and I have met some amazing guys. I still miss teaching kids that will be a hoke I hope to fill soon.
I don’t know if you have heard that those educators who are renewing their license must agree to the diversity,equity, inclusion when they renew their license in Minnesota. This was another reason I believe God yanked me out of the public schools. Now for my news about working with elementary students, I. recently was told that a new Good News Club would be starting in Eden Prairie and I would be contacted about volunteering for it
sorry about the length, but wanted to give you and update David
I recently applied fir two library positions in the Scott County. and waiting for an interview. This would enable me to get thirty hours a week and health benefits. At this time I pay $536.00 for my own health insurance and one of my checks covers this.
Thanks for sharing Tom. Currently, MN educators who are already teaching do not have to agree to the standards you are referring to. At this point, they are only for students in teacher licensing programs. I covered this in my prior column here: https://christianeducators.org/whatsnew/show-me-the-man-and-ill-show-you-the-crime/
Appreciate you Dave! Thanks for your courage on such important and sensitive issues. God bless you all!