Under President Donald Trump, administrative changes in education are expected, such as budget cuts for programs that promote equity, inclusion and diversity within schools, which would put the educational opportunities of children and young people at risk.
There is the campaign promise of cutting the Department of Education or granting federal funds to schools that use inclusive educational materials and supporting vouchers for private institutions, to name a few, but it is not yet clear what changes would be made, experts said during a briefing held by Ethnic Media Services.
They also commented that the decline in diversity within schools has become worrying, which means a risk for immigrant students due to the restrictive immigration policies that Trump will implement, generating financial problems for the educational system due to the decrease in students.
Not only are students' rights and support at stake, they will also have to face a rollback of freedoms, which puts the black community at risk, but also the LGBTQ+ community, said Pedro Noguera, dean of USC Rossier School of Education.
Noguera said that they will be facing a decrease in students, as many will not enroll due to the fear generated, so schools will be left without students and this will have economic consequences.
"Most of the funding for public education comes from the states, 90 percent, the federal role is minor with some exceptions, so eliminating the Department of Education would not eliminate public education, but it would generate many conflicts," Noguera added.
Thomas Toch, director of FutureEd at Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy, said Trump is not committed to improving public education and it is difficult to predict what might happen because there is no real certainty.
In that regard, he believes there will be pressure to reduce funding for certain federal programs that benefit students or to reduce funding, especially for programs that promote diversity in schools.
"International students are at risk, given that immigration to the United States will be limited illegally but also legally, dreamers must be worried, affirmative action is at risk and more, it is not yet clear how it will work, but education is at stake," said Toch.
For his part, Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, explained that not all of the measures that Trump has announced will be carried out, since during his previous administration he announced many changes that never came to fruition, so it is a bit confusing to determine at this time what to expect in the area of education.
In the case of the DACA program (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program), an adjustment is expected in the administration and in its applicable policies for young people, but not its elimination by the president and, even if he wanted to do so, there would be strong opposition, since it represents an important part of education in the United States.
In addition, Saenz mentioned that in order to make some adjustments, it would be necessary to go through Congress, unless there is unanimous Republican support, but they do not have enough to overcome the changes through the plenary session.
What Saenz did say is that the rhetoric is anti-immigrant, anti-civil, anti-diversity. "It will be a campaign of exaggeration so that the president can do what he wants and public officials act in favor of their ideologies."
"He will do everything possible to oppose progressive initiatives in education, arguing that they violate the civil rights of white people," concluded Saenz, also a civil rights lawyer.
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