Reinstating Commonsense School Discipline Policies

Executive Order 14280 of April 23, 2025

Reinstating Commonsense School Discipline
Policies

By the authority vested in me as President by the
Constitution and the laws of the United States of
America, and to ensure safety and order in American
classrooms, it is hereby ordered:

Section 1. Purpose and Policy. The Federal Government
will no longer tolerate known risks to children's
safety and well-being in the classroom that result from
the application of school discipline based on
discriminatory and unlawful “equity” ideology.

In January 2014, the Department of Education and the
Department of Justice jointly issued a “Dear
Colleague” letter regarding school discipline. In that
letter, the Department of Education and the Department
of Justice explained that schools could be found to
violate Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964--and
therefore could lose Federal funding--if their
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. The letter effectively
required schools to discriminate on the basis of race
by imposing discipline based on racial characteristics,
rather than on objective behavior alone.

The consequences harmed students and schools. A 2018
report from the Federal Commission on School Safety
(Commission) noted evidence that, because of the 2014
letter, “schools ignored or covered up--rather than
disciplined--student misconduct in order to avoid any
purported racial disparity in discipline numbers that
might catch the eye of the federal government.” As a
result, students who should have been suspended or
expelled for dangerous behavior remained in the
classroom, making all students less safe.

As the Commission found: “When school leaders focus on
aggregate school discipline numbers rather than the
specific circumstances and conduct that underlie each
matter, schools become less safe,” and “[r]esearch
clearly indicates that the failure of schools to
appropriately discipline disruptive students has
consequences for overall student achievement.” The
Commission's seemingly obvious conclusion was that
“disciplinary decisions are best left in the hands of
classroom teachers and administrators” and should be
based on student behavior, rather than racial
statistics.

Following the Commission's report on December 18, 2018,
the 2014 Dear Colleague letter was rescinded. In 2023,
however, the previous administration's Department of
Education and Department of Justice issued new guidance
noting that statistical racial disparities in student
discipline may indicate violations of law, and
encouraging schools to collect, analyze, and adjust
their disciplinary policies in light of racial
disciplinary data. The 2023 guidance thus effectively
reinstated the practice of weaponizing Title VI to
promote an approach to school discipline based on
discriminatory equity ideology. As a consequence of
these policies, teachers and students are suffering
increased levels of classroom disorder and school
violence.

Sec. 2. Definitions. As used herein:

    (a) The definitions in the Executive Order of
January 29, 2025 (Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12
Schooling), shall apply to this order.

    (b) “Behavior Modification Techniques” means any
school discipline policies or practices that
incorporate or are based on discriminatory equity
ideology.

Sec. 3. Ensuring Commonsense School Discipline
Policies.

    (a) Within 30 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Education, in consultation with the
Attorney General, shall issue new guidance to local
educational agencies (LEAs) and State educational
agencies (SEAs) regarding school discipline and their
obligations not to engage in racial discrimination
under Title VI in all contexts, including school
discipline.
    (b) The Secretary of Education shall take
appropriate action with respect to LEAs and SEAs that
fail to comply with Title VI protections against racial
discrimination in the application of school discipline.
    (c) Within 60 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Education and the Attorney General shall
initiate coordination with Governors and State
Attorneys General regarding the prevention of racial
discrimination in the application of school discipline.
    (d) Within 90 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Defense shall issue a revised school
discipline code that appropriately protects and
enhances the education of the children of America's
military-service families.
    (e) Within 120 days of the date of this order, the
Secretary of Education shall, in coordination with the
Attorney General, the Secretary of Health and Human
Services, and the Secretary of Homeland Security,
submit a report to the President, through the Assistant
to the President for Domestic Policy, regarding the
status of discriminatory-equity-ideology-based school
discipline and behavior modification techniques in
American public education. The report shall include:

(i) an inventory and analysis of the nature and consequences of all Title
VI discipline-related investigations since 2009;

(ii) an assessment of the role of non-profit organizations that are Federal
grant recipients in promoting discriminatory-equity-ideology-based
discipline and behavior modification techniques, and recommendations to
ensure that Federal taxpayer funds do not flow to programs or activities,
including those of non-profit organizations, that promote discriminatory-
equity-ideology-based discipline and behavior modification techniques;

(iii) an assessment of discipline-related policies and curricular options
that do not promote discriminatory equity ideology; and

(iv) model school discipline policies that promote common sense, protect
the safety and educational environment of students, do not promote unlawful
discrimination, and are rooted in American values and traditional virtues.

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 23, 2025.