Federal education policy under the Trump administration

The federal government has been involved in public schools for decades. Yet, the relationship between the federal government and the states has evolved and recalibrated regularly over that period.

Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 presidential election is widely viewed as a signal of change for the federal government’s role in American society generally, and education in particular. Following on the heels of the recent enactment of the new Every Student Succeeds Act in December of 2015, which once again rewrote the rules of the federal government’s role in the nation’s schools, the future of federal education policy is now fluid and uncertain.

On January 4, the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings hosted a public forum examining the history and future of federal education policy. The event, marking the culmination of the Memos to the President on the Future of Education Policy series, convened leaders and scholars with a variety of perspectives to discuss the federal government’s involvement with public schools.