Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal Control of Education

Executive Order 13791 of April 26, 2017

Enforcing Statutory Prohibitions on Federal
Control of Education

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and in order to restore the proper division of
power under the Constitution between the Federal
Government and the States and to further the goals of,
and to ensure strict compliance with, statutes that
prohibit Federal interference with State and local
control over education, including section 103 of the
Department of Education Organization Act (DEOA) (20
U.S.C. 3403), sections 438 and 447 of the General
Education Provisions Act (GEPA), as amended (20 U.S.C.
1232a and 1232j), and sections 8526A, 8527, and 8529 of
the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965
(ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act
(ESSA) (20 U.S.C. 7906a, 7907, and 7909), it is hereby
ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. It shall be the policy of the
executive branch to protect and preserve State and
local control over the curriculum, program of
instruction, administration, and personnel of
educational institutions, schools, and school systems,
consistent with applicable law, including ESEA, as
amended by ESSA, and ESEA's restrictions related to the
Common Core State Standards developed under the Common
Core State Standards Initiative.

Sec. 2. Review of Regulations and Guidance Documents.
(a) The Secretary of Education (Secretary) shall review
all Department of Education (Department) regulations
and guidance documents relating to DEOA, GEPA, and
ESEA, as amended by ESSA.

    (b) The Secretary shall examine whether these
regulations and guidance documents comply with Federal
laws that prohibit the Department from exercising any
direction, supervision, or control over areas subject
to State and local control, including:

(i) the curriculum or program of instruction of any elementary and
secondary school and school system;

(ii) school administration and personnel; and

(iii) selection and content of library resources, textbooks, and
instructional materials.

    (c) The Secretary shall, as appropriate and
consistent with applicable law, rescind or revise any
regulations that are identified pursuant to subsection
(b) of this section as inconsistent with statutory
prohibitions. The Secretary shall also rescind or
revise any guidance documents that are identified
pursuant to subsection (b) of this section as
inconsistent with statutory prohibitions. The Secretary
shall, to the extent consistent with law, publish any
proposed regulations and withdraw or modify any
guidance documents pursuant to this subsection no later
than 300 days after the date of this order.

Sec. 3. Definition. The term “guidance document”
means any written statement issued by the Department to
the public that sets forth a policy on a statutory,
regulatory, or technical issue or an interpretation of
a statutory or regulatory issue, including Dear
Colleague letters, interpretive memoranda, policy
statements, manuals, circulars, memoranda, pamphlets,
bulletins, advisories, technical assistance, and grants
of applications for waivers.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order
shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or
the head thereof; or

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

    (b) This order shall be implemented consistent with
applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
    (c) This order is not intended to, and does not,
create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural,
enforceable at law or in equity by any party against
the United States, its departments, agencies, or
entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any
other person.

    (Presidential Sig.)

THE WHITE HOUSE,

    April 26, 2017.