Last week, we saw a lot of information and announcements come from the White House. However, they did not contain much detail or guidance. We are working with other education organizations both statewide and nationally to gather as many details as possible and determine potential implications for your school community.

It started on Monday, Jan. 27, with the White House Office of Management and Budget issuing a memo temporarily pausing the disbursement of federal grants for a review of policies. It was intended to make sure that federal dollars were not being used for initiatives mentioned in previous Executive Orders, such as DEI, gender issues and environmental policies. The memo was issued without guidance and created confusion and panic across the country. A federal judge issued a stay on the memo before it went into effect, and on Wednesday it appeared the President had rescinded the memo.

Also on Wednesday, Jan. 29, President Trump signed two new Executive Orders affecting public education, the first, Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families, on using federal funds for school vouchers. The order calls on the Secretary of Education (who has not yet been confirmed) to issue guidance on how states can use federal funds to support vouchers. It also calls on several federal departments to review their programs and grants to determine how they can be used to “expand education freedom for America’s families and teachers.” The order gives departments 90 days to report back to the President.

The second order, Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling, is a broad order calling on the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Defense and Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Attorney General, to “provide an Ending Indoctrination Strategy to the President.” This strategy is to include recommendations and a plan for issues such as ending the promotion of “gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology” in instruction or activities, reinstating the 1776 Commission to “promote patriotic education”, and protecting parents’ rights.

All these things happened on the eve of the National School Board Association’s annual Advocacy and Equity Institute in Washington DC. This brings hundreds of public school board members from around the country together to talk about issues facing their districts and the impact of federal rules and regulations. Michigan had more than 90 attendees. On Tuesday, they went to Capitol Hill to meet with Senators Slotkin and Peters and their individual U.S. Representatives. With 12 of 13 congressional districts represented, the entire delegation heard the message to protect public education, its funding, and its mission.

We will continue to watch developments at the federal level and share information as it becomes available.