What the Trump administration legally can and can’t do to implement its agenda in public schools

Since taking office in January 2025, the Trump administration has worked to reshape the federal role in education through executive action. This includes orders directing the dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, threatening to withhold federal funding from schools that support DEI or recognize transgender students’ rights, and calling for the return to “common-sense” school discipline policies. Many of these actions have been challenged in federal court—with some early success. This includes, for example, a recent federal court ruling preventing the Trump administration from withholding federal funding from schools and colleges with DEI programs.

On September 15, join the Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings for a discussion with education and legal scholars and civil rights attorneys on the status of litigation challenging the Trump administration’s executive actions related to K-12 education. Panelists will provide education leaders with a clear understanding of which executive actions the administration can and cannot lawfully enforce in public schools. 

This event will be open to watch online only. Viewers can submit questions via e-mail to [email protected] or via Twitter/X using #EduLitigation.