Trump’s Anti-Trans Education Order Relies on Intimidation. We Must Not Yield.

Autocracy depends in large part on conformity of thought, which explains Donald Trump’s focus on K-12 education during the early days of his second administration. Executive orders he issued in January include an executive order attacking “gender ideology” and defining gender as immutable and based on biological sex; an order attempting to push federal funding towards private charter schools; and an order called “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling,” which details his intention to remove and replace anti-oppression education in public schools with right-wing indoctrination, and to target schools that support trans students.

The K-12 order is just the beginning of what looks to be a prolonged propaganda campaign: It instructs the Departments of Education, Defense, and Health and Human Services to furnish an “Ending Indoctrination Strategy” to the president by the end of April, with support from the Department of Justice. The intent is clear, and chilling: Trump would see an end to any form of education or school policy that supports “gender ideology” (a blanket term for pro-trans policies and beliefs) or “discriminatory equity ideology” (a blanket term for anti-racism). He demands that his cabinet members furnish a plan for cutting federal funds, including grants and contracts, to schools and programs that have such programs and policies. He also gives the Department of Justice carte blanche to target individuals who do not comply with the new rules, even encouraging legal action against educators who support trans students and suggesting that supporting students in their transition is somehow unlawful.

While it currently doesn’t authorize any particular legal action on the part of the federal government, the “Radical Indoctrination” order is a forceful piece of propaganda. It calls to prevent “social transition,” which the order defines as “the process of adopting a ‘gender identity’ or ‘gender marker’ that differs from a person’s sex.” Supporting social transition can be as benign as respecting a student’s chosen name, or respecting their privacy and not outing them to their parents.

The wording is a full-on attempt to criminalize trans youth and those who support them, and force them back into the closet. The order calls on schools to eliminate counseling services for trans youth, refuse to call students by their preferred names or pronouns, disallow the use of gender-aligned restrooms or locker rooms, and prevent kids from joining sports teams or other extracurriculars that align with their gender identity. It implies that educators who don’t follow these cruel directives may be “sexually exploiting minors,” “unlawfully practicing medicine by offering diagnoses and treatment without the requisite license,” and “otherwise unlawfully facilitating the social transition of a minor student.”

Here we see the ideological arm of the right wing’s campaign against trans people taking shape in federal policy: The argument is not just that trans youth should not access hormones or surgeries, but that trans youth should not in any way be recognized in public space or even supported privately at school.

Even if these orders are unenforceable, the psychological impacts of this bullying propaganda must be mitigated. Trump and his cronies are trying to put a scarlet letter on simple acts of etiquette and respect, for which our communities have been fighting for decades — and make pariahs out of trans people and those who support them.

Does the Trump Administration Really Have the Power to Do This?

Legally — no, not really. The education outlet Chalkbeat notes that “states, school districts, and even individual schools have traditionally called the shots on everything from what kids learn to which restroom transgender students use,” and asserts Trump’s executive order has little power over the day-to-day operations of public schools. The details of the plans have yet to be developed, and when they do, they will likely face legal challenges. In the meantime, there should be no immediate changes to public education.

However, it’s hard to measure the effects of “anticipatory obedience,” historian Timothy Snyder’s phrase for the tendency of citizens under authoritarian or autocratic rule to preemptively comply with orders and expectations. During his last administration, much of Trump’s talk about education was just that — unenforceable talk. But a survey in 2022, during the Biden administration, found that one in five teachers in states without legal restrictions on discussions about race and gender were told by their school or district leaders to “limit their classroom conversations about political and social issues.” State laws that threaten similar consequences for schools that support trans students, and an overall environment of anti-trans and racist backlash, have created an environment of profound fear and confusion for many educators.

Anticipatory obedience is dangerous, but it is not delusional. Trump has announced plans to purge the entire federal government of “DEI hires” as well as those supportive of diversity and inclusion, and has made clear that government employees will be targeted for their beliefs. On February 1, several Department of Education employees were placed on paid leave for having previously participated in a diversity training. While the administration may not be able to legally dictate classroom behavior or pull funds from noncompliant schools or districts, it has an unchecked ability to encourage obedience through this kind of intimidation — and a seemingly limitless willingness to use bullying tactics regardless of their legality.

Federal funding cuts, if they were implemented and if the Trump administration defeated or simply ignored legal challenges, could be devastating for some public school systems. Out of the total budget for public schooling in the U.S., the federal government funds just 13.6 percent. But in places with low state and local funding toward schools — like South Dakota, Mississippi and North Carolina — federal funds per pupil make up nearly a quarter of schools’ already low budgets.

And pulling federal funds would affect some areas more severely than others: The Department of Education’s two largest grant-making areas are programs for disabled students and Title I programs, which provide services for low-income students. If federal funds are indeed to be used as a bludgeon to control curricula and prevent teachers from supporting trans students, the bludgeon will be aimed at some of the most vulnerable young people.

So, the idea asserted by many news outlets that the U.S. Department of Education “has no power over what’s taught in schools” perhaps depends on your definition of power. Legal power? No. Coercive power, and potentially threatening ideological power? Yes. And that is what many of Trump’s executive orders are about: sowing chaos and encouraging anticipatory obedience in an attempt to maximize his administration’s power, regardless of legal authority.

There may also be a divide and conquer element to this strategy: The new federal government has removed recognition of trans people from sites and policies that used to include them, such as federal travel guidance and web pages about adoption and social security. In addition to making trans people invisible, this may be an attempt to drive a wedge between lesbian, gay and bisexual communities (which are not explicitly mentioned in this executive order) and the much smaller trans population. In addition to dividing trans youth from LGB advocates, the order has the potential to pit educators fearful of being targeted against their own trans students.

How Are Districts and States Responding Now?

States that already legislate in favor of the safety and protection of trans students, such as New York, Washington and California, have given no indication that they will encourage compliance with the federal orders before a legal challenge. California’s attorney general has already vowed to defend educators and students from the Trump administration’s attacks, and the Los Angeles school board has declared its school system a “sanctuary” for both undocumented and LGBTQ students. Journalist Erin Reed reported on several other districts across the country that have made statements of solidarity with trans students.

But many districts have been quiet, or slow to respond: In New York City, parents are pushing the public schools’ leadership to issue a similar statement of noncompliance.

In states that have already begun to pass and implement anti-trans policies in public schools, these orders only continue and encourage a process already underway. In 2024 alone, 19 bills were signed into law at the state level that affect trans youth in education, including curriculum bans, laws requiring schools to out trans children to their parents, and laws banning trans youth from using restrooms and locker rooms that align with their gender identities.

How Can Students, Parents and School Districts Resist?

Even in states with virulent anti-trans laws already in place, school districts have leeway to continue to pass and enforce inclusive and supportive policies. There is also the power of the pulpit: Boards of education are locally elected, and elected officials are free to speak out, which in turn can empower school leaders to do the same. Teachers and students are the most vulnerable here; school boards, parents and district leaders should be outspoken and unified in their resistance and solidarity. Parents in every district should be lobbying their elected officials now to promise protection for trans students — and by making this kind of noise, parents and elected officials can provide protection for educators, too.

For example, Columbus City School District in Ohio has vowed to maintain support for all students, while the president of the Ohio Education Association accused Trump of “instilling fear and sowing division in a way that is intended to try to stop educators from teaching the truth.”

Policy advocate Guillermo Mayer writes in EdSource that, “While the potential consequences of this order are staggering to imagine, the most effective way to resist it is clear: Schools, educators and communities should not cave in to threats and intimidation and rush to voluntarily comply with this likely unconstitutional and unlawful order.”

In Chicago on Monday, Kelly Hayes reports teachers themselves rallied in support of their marginalized students — with threats coming from all sides including potential ICE raids, attacks on trans kids, and potential government censorship and targeting, the Chicago Teachers Union is leaning on its proactive politics and community organizing skills.

Solidarity and a refusal to practice “anticipatory obedience” are essential. If parents, students and educators together refuse these policies, the policies will become unenforceable — remember that right now, they are effectively just a form of intimidation, a test to see how easy we are to scare into submission. To allow this tactic to work would be a cowardly abandonment of trans kids, and of all kids, who should be free to explore their gender identities in a safe environment, no matter what.