Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced six interagency agreements (IAAs) with four federal agencies to take another major step forward toward fulfilling the promise of dismantling the 45-year failure of the astronomically expensive and ineffective department.
The agreements are with the Department of Labor, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of State. According to a <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-announces-six-new-agency-partnerships-break-federal-bureaucracy">press release</a> from the Department of Education, “by partnering with agencies that are best positioned to deliver results for students and taxpayers, these IAAs will streamline federal education activities on legally required programs, reduce administrative burdens, and refocus programs and activities to better serve students and grantees.”
The six agreements are as follows. First is the Elementary and Secondary Education Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. Going forward, the Department of Labor will begin playing a larger role in the administration of federal K-12 education programs to enhance <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-labor-dol-elementary-and-secondary-education-partnership-112465.pdf">alignment</a> with workforce and postsecondary programs, resulting in “a cohesive, unified strategy for talent development.”
Second is the Postsecondary Education Partnership, which is also between the Department of Education and the Department of Labor. It will streamline the administration of postsecondary education programs and <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-labor-dol-postsecondary-education-partnership-112464.pdf">will</a> “create a better coordinated Federal approach to postsecondary education and workforce development to help more Americans achieve career success.”
Third is the Indian Education Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior. This includes the Department of the Interior administering Indian education spanning from elementary, secondary, and higher education, as well as career and technical education and vocational rehabilitation. This will ensure Native American students are better served with education, training, and workforce programs.
Fourth is the Foreign Medical Accreditation Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. It leverages the expertise of the Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate whether the accreditation standards for foreign medical schools are comparable to those of U.S. medical schools. According to a <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-health-and-human-services-hhs-foreign-medical-accreditation-partnership-112462.pdf">fact sheet</a> in conjunction with the press release, the “accreditation standards must be comparable between U.S. and foreign medical schools in order for American students enrolled in medical schools outside of the U.S. to be eligible for federal student loans.”
Fifth is a second agreement between the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, termed the Child Care Access Means Parents in School Partnership. The partnership <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-health-and-human-services-hhs-child-care-access-means-parents-school-partnership-112460.pdf">will</a> “promote innovation and process improvements in pursuit of better outcomes for parents and children” by streamlining policies and program requirements, and also <a href="https://www.ed.gov/media/document/fact-sheet-department-of-education-ed-and-department-of-health-and-human-services-hhs-child-care-access-means-parents-school-partnership-112460.pdf">providing</a> “campus-based child care services to low-income students.”
Sixth is the International Education and Foreign Language Studies Partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of State. It enhances the efficiency of the Fulbright-Hays grant programs, which equip Americans with skills critical to our national security and interests.
Speaking of these partnerships, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said, “Cutting through layers of red tape in Washington is one essential piece of our final mission.” The mission is nothing other than — with the votes necessary from Congress — to eliminate the ineffective U.S. Department of Education, which has wasted trillions of dollars without improving student learning.
Continuing, Secretary McMahon explained what lies ahead: “As we partner with these agencies to improve federal programs, we will continue to gather best practices in each state through our 50-state tour, empower local leaders in K-12 education, restore excellence to higher education, and work with Congress to codify these reforms. Together, we will refocus education on students, families, and schools — ensuring federal taxpayer spending is supporting a world-class education system.”
Since January, the Trump Administration has been focused on cutting wasteful spending within the U.S. Department of Education and removing harmful ideologies. For example, just three days after taking office, under the President’s direction, the <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-takes-action-eliminate-dei">U.S. Department of Education</a> took action to “eliminate harmful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.” This <a href="https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/cultural-issues/article_89d2f95a-da74-11ef-881f-c31173f69a5c.html?seyid=48320">included</a> placing U.S. Department of Education staff leading DEI initiatives on administrative leave, removing more than 200 web pages containing DEI resources that promote or endorse harmful ideological programs, and cutting over $2.5 million of DEI contracts.
<div id="attachment_1002607" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1002607" class="size-large wp-image-1002607" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-864x576.jpg" alt="US President Donald Trump holds an executive order after signing it alongside US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon (R) in the East Room of the White house in Washington, DC, March 20, 2025. US President Donald Trump will sign an order March 20, 2025 to start dismantling the Department of Education, fulfilling an election campaign pledge and a long-held dream of American conservatives. By law, the Education Department -- created in 1979 -- cannot be shuttered without the approval of Congress, and Republicans do not have the votes to push that through. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP)" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2205418285.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Credit: Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images.</div>
In March, President Trump signed the “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/">Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities</a>” executive order <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-empowers-parents-states-and-communities-to-improve-education-outcomes/">directing</a> Secretary McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.”
President Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjnoGgEJvLs">explained</a> and communicated confidence, stating, “We are going to be returning education very simply back to the states where it belongs. And this is a very popular thing to do, but much more importantly, it is a common-sense thing to do, and it is going to work. Absolutely, it is going to work.” Signing the executive order was a foundational first step toward eliminating the department.
Despite the opposition&#8217;s rhetoric, dismantling the Department of Education is about partnering with other federal agencies to improve efficiency, break down bureaucracy, and return education to the states where it rightfully belongs. This will give moms and dads a bigger voice while providing for greater accountability for academic results.
The recent 43-day government shutdown highlighted the lack of need for the federal education department. Just two days before the major IAAs partnership announcement, Secretary McMahon <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2025/11/16/school-funding-trump-dismantle-education-department/87251723007/">wrote</a> in USA Today on November 16, “The Schumer shutdown underlined just how little the Department of Education will be missed. As such, the Trump administration will work to end federal micromanagement of our schools and empower state and local leaders to create high-quality education programs that lead to a rewarding career. We know that the stakes could not be higher.”
These strategic actions under Secretary McMahon’s leadership mark a decisive departure from decades of federal bureaucratic bloat and chart the much-needed path forward toward making good on President Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/03/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-empowers-parents-states-and-communities-to-improve-education-outcomes/">executive order</a> commitment to return “power over education to families instead of bureaucracies.”
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Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
Correction: The title of this article has been updated.
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Trump Takes Steps Toward Dismantling Education Department

Trump Admin Delivers On Promise To Dismantle U.S. Department Of Education

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A couple who won a landmark Supreme Court victory in favor of parental rights said their Christian faith helped them through the dramatic ordeal that began when their daughter took a book pushing transgender ideology home from her Maryland school.
In April, Chris and Melissa Persak, a Catholic family, found themselves and other allied parents arriving at the Supreme Court to hear oral arguments in their case against the Montgomery County Board of Education over whether they had the right to opt their kids out of instruction on transgender ideology. In June, the Persaks, who were represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, won a decisive 6-3 victory with the Supreme Court majority declaring that they and other parents had expansive oversight over what their children were taught at schools.
“We said prayers of the Holy Spirit, and just felt this unbelievable calmness as we&#8217;re walking in. Even with the protesters, even with members of the leadership of Montgomery County, who were protesting against us live that day,” Chris told The Daily Wire.
“We just felt like this was the right thing that God was saying, ‘Yep, this is exactly what I asked you to do. It&#8217;s been 24 months, and I know you guys have taken shrapnel and things that have come at you and people threaten your children, and you and your friends, and it was vindication day,” he added.
On Tuesday, the Persaks <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfCn1zWnXGQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeared</a> on Becket’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfCn1zWnXGQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Stream of Conscience</a>” podcast alongside Jeff and Svitlana Roman, another family who challenged Montgomery County’s opt-out policies.
The legal battle began in March 2023, when the school board said that it would no longer let parents opt out of books pushing transgender and queer ideology. In response, a group of Christian, Muslim, and Jewish parents challenged the county in Mahmoud v. Taylor.
Svitlana said during her appearance on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfCn1zWnXGQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">podcast</a>, which was previewed by The Daily Wire, that she became involved in the legal fight because she just wanted parents like her to have the option to opt their elementary-aged kids from sexualized materials in the classroom.
“All I would like to ask is, one, to make it very clear that the teachers have an optionality to teach it or not, and then two, give the choice to parents to opt in,” she said.
Melissa Persak echoed that sentiment.
“This whole lawsuit was we just wanted the rights to our own children and what they&#8217;re gonna learn,” she said. “It has nothing to do with anybody else&#8217;s kids, but, you know, obviously, in the process, now, we want to protect everyone, all the parents, and all of their children.”
<div id="attachment_1002015" style="width: 1952px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1002015" class="size-full wp-image-1002015" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-3.44.53-PM.png" alt="" width="1942" height="1089" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-3.44.53-PM.png 1942w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-3.44.53-PM-300x168.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-3.44.53-PM-1024x574.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-3.44.53-PM-768x431.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Screenshot-2025-11-17-at-3.44.53-PM-1536x861.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1942px) 100vw, 1942px" />The Romans and Persaks appear on the Becket podcast.</div>
Chris, her husband, added that the entire saga revealed how citizens could fight for their rights under the Constitution. He described being at the Supreme Court as a “powerful moment” because “citizens can stand up for what we believe protected under the Constitution by a system that was essentially set up nearly 250 years ago.”
“We just want the best for our kids and our families and have access to the freedoms granted under the Constitution,” he added. “And the ability to see that happen in real time at the political level has been awesome, it&#8217;s been awe-inspiring.”
When the decision was announced, Chris said the “jubilation was unbelievable.”
Becket Lawyer Will Haun told The Daily Wire that the decision in Mahmoud came 100 years after the Supreme Court issued a decision protecting the rights of parents to send their kids to religious schools.
“It took a long time for the Supreme Court to confirm that parents don&#8217;t lose that freedom when they send their children to public schools,” he said. “But thanks to the heroic example of Chris and Melissa and all the parents who stood with us, that is confirmed in the law now as well.”
In light of the decision, Montgomery County has rolled out a system known as &#8220;refrigerator curriculum,” giving parents broad access to essentially every material used in the classroom. The breadth of material has prompted some parents to worry they might miss something, but Haun said it was a sign that things were changing.
“Business as usual in Montgomery County when it came to opt outs was not acceptable anymore,” he said. “And I think that became abundantly clear with the Supreme Court&#8217;s decisive victory for the parents.”

Mahmoud v. Taylor

Caught In A SCOTUS Clash Over Trans Ideology, Parents Turned To Faith And The Constitution

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In light of the recent loss of Charlie Kirk, we have to seriously reconsider the level of radical indoctrination in our <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/public-schools">public schools</a> — and not just at the collegiate level. The hostility that fueled such an attack doesn’t appear out of thin air. It begins in classrooms where children are taught to despise their country, question their God-given identity, and see their parents as obstacles rather than protectors. By the time students reach college, the soil has already been prepared by years of quiet but intentional indoctrination. The loss of Charlie should also serve as a rallying cry — a reminder of the price conservatives are paying in this cultural battle and the urgency to confront it head-on.
This is why the fight against gender ideology in our K–12 schools cannot wait. It is not a side issue or a distraction from “real politics.” It is the heart of the cultural crisis America faces. If children are trained from kindergarten to see themselves through the lens of gender theory rather than truth, faith, and family, then we should not be surprised when that worldview matures into radicalism, activism, and, eventually, violence.
For decades, conservatives assumed the worst indoctrination happened on college campuses. That was a mistake. Elementary schools are where the work begins — through school counselors, taxpayer-funded SEL programs, and activist-approved library shelves. Children are introduced to gender confusion long before they ever take an SAT or apply to a university. By the time they arrive on campus, the indoctrination is already deeply rooted.
Florida recognized this and acted decisively. In 2022, the state passed the Parental Rights in Education Act (<a href="https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h1557er.docx&amp;DocumentType=Bill&amp;BillNumber=1557&amp;Session=2022">HB 1557</a>), banning classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade. In 2023, lawmakers expanded the law to apply through eighth grade and specifically addressed the use of pronouns. The Florida Board of Education later broadened protections further to cover all K–12 grades. Additional bills like <a href="https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_h1069er.docx&amp;DocumentType=Bill&amp;BillNumber=1069&amp;Session=2023">HB 1069</a> reaffirmed that sex is biologically determined at birth, while <a href="https://www.flhouse.gov/Sections/Documents/loaddoc.aspx?FileName=_s0254er.DOCX&amp;DocumentType=Bill&amp;BillNumber=254&amp;Session=2023">SB 254</a> placed restrictions on gender-related medical interventions for minors.
What made this possible was the partnership of strong leadership at the top — Gov. Ron DeSantis and a conservative state school board — combined with parents pushing relentlessly from the bottom up. Importantly, the state school board did not wait for the legislature to act again; they used their authority to pass stronger policies when they saw the need. This kind of backbone is missing in school boards across the country, but it is the critical piece in reclaiming our public school systems. That partnership is the model every red state must follow if we want to preserve the innocence of children and the authority of parents.
Florida shows that the combination of political courage and grassroots activism can shift the culture of public schools. Parents had been voicing concerns for years about radical curricula, library materials, and counselors undermining parental authority. Instead of dismissing those voices, the leadership of Florida embraced them, amplifying the parents rather than silencing them. That is the blueprint. This bottom-up and top-down unity is what makes Florida distinct — and it is why conservative parents in other states look to Florida as proof that this fight can be won.
On the other end of the spectrum is California, where the guardrails are gone. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the SAFETY Act (<a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240AB1955">AB 1955</a>), which allows schools to conceal a child’s new gender identity or pronouns from parents. San Diego schools have run classroom programs with books like <a href="https://www.iwfeatures.com/profile/controversy-erupts-in-california-school-district-over-radical-gender-ideology-in-classrooms/">My Shadow Is Pink</a>, asking fifth graders to guide kindergartners through gender-identity exercises without parental notification. And when teachers object on religious grounds — such as the Oakland kindergarten teacher fired for refusing to use pronouns that violated her conscience — the state sides with ideology, not faith or family.
California also recently lost more than $12 million in federal funding for refusing to strip “radical gender ideology” from its sex-education curriculum. Instead of correcting course, the state doubled down. This is the America our children will inherit if red states fail to act.
The danger in California isn’t limited to its own borders. Policies that begin there often spread nationwide through activist groups, teacher unions, and national curriculum providers. A book that appears in a Los Angeles classroom one year often shows up in a red-state district the next. Without strong protections, even conservative communities will find themselves importing California’s chaos. That is why the example of California should serve as both a warning and a motivator: if red states do not proactively legislate, they will be pulled in the same direction by cultural and institutional pressures.
President Trump recently issued an <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/01/24/2025-01567/removing-radical-gender-ideology-from-federally-funded-education-programs">executive order</a> directing the removal of radical gender ideology from federally funded education programs. That is an important step — but executive orders are temporary. What one president does, the next can undo. And without strong state-level laws, even Trump’s order cannot stop what continues to happen in liberal states like California, where ideology is embedded in classrooms regardless of federal guidance.
That’s why red states must codify protections into permanent law. And they must add accountability measures with real teeth:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Immediate removal from the classroom if teachers or counselors push gender ideology in violation of the law.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Revocation of teaching licenses so offenders cannot simply move districts or cross state lines to continue indoctrinating children.</li>
</ul>
Parents deserve more than symbolism — they deserve action. Conservative lawmakers must remember that parents are not asking for suggestions or guidelines — they are demanding laws that protect their rights and their children. Laws without accountability are empty. A policy without enforcement is a wish list. If red states want to be serious, they need to back up their words with actions that make the cost of violating parental rights unacceptably high.
Conservative states now have both the opportunity and the obligation to act. Parents are fleeing states like California in search of places where their children can be raised in safety, truth, and faith. Red states must be those safe havens. That means more than political slogans — it means codifying into law the protections families need to preserve faith-based values and the authority of parents.
If conservatives fail here, the exodus from blue states will only accelerate, but families will arrive to find that their “safe haven” is just another battleground. Conservative parents are looking for states where school boards act decisively, legislatures put children first, and governors refuse to bend to woke corporations or activist lobbies. They want leaders who will not only defend but advance the values of family, faith, and freedom.
Red states across the country now have the opportunity and the backing of parents — and if legislators refuse, they should be replaced with leaders who will. The loss of Charlie has only deepened conservatives’ resolve, reminding us of the urgency and the cultural impact of his fight.
The line is clear: pass laws protecting children from gender ideology with real accountability, and pass them first — or prepare to face a reckoning at the ballot box. Our children are not bargaining chips. They are the future of America, and they deserve to be defended. Until states pass binding protections, even Trump’s executive order cannot shield families from the spread of radical ideology in liberal states — making state action urgent and non-negotiable.
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Emily Jones is a mother, community organizer, and candidate for the Alabama State Board of Education. Known as “The Controversial Mom,” she advocates for parental rights, faith-based values, and stronger accountability in public schools.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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Why Red States Must Crush Gender Ideology In The Classroom

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Few things are more important than the education of our young people. 
That’s why, when the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released the <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/">Nation’s Report Card</a> earlier this week, I became concerned. Average scores among 8th and 12th grade students were lower across all three primary assessments — science, math, and reading. For example, only 22% of 12th graders were proficient at their level of mathematics and 35% were proficient at their level of reading.
Scores like these should remind all of us just how important a high-quality education is for every student. While these scores are discouraging, I believe when parents and students are given a choice in education and the right leadership is in place, we will see test scores like these go up, not down. 
Most students spend more awake time in school than at home during the week and thousands of families are counting on their state officials to deliver for their children. That’s why I’m running for governor of South Carolina, to ensure that every student has access to a high-quality education – whether that’s their local traditional public school, a high-performing public charter school, or a high-quality private school. I am confident that there are thousands of outstanding teachers across South Carolina, but there are also gaps in excellence in far too many places.
I’ve spent my career in business and understand that competition makes everyone better. When traditional public schools are competing against private and public charter schools, it drives innovation, efficiency, and a desire for excellence. This free-market principle is what creates great organizations that serve people well, and it’s the same principle that will improve education for South Carolina students.
Status quo politicians and special interests have tried to pit education freedom against great public schools. I fundamentally reject this flawed argument. I attended public school and many of my grandchildren currently attend public school – and I strongly support education freedom. South Carolina parents deserve the opportunity to choose what’s best for their child.
Fortunately, South Carolina has made significant strides in improving student-centered education over the past few years, but we have room to grow. As governor, my mission will be to improve public education, increase education freedom, and ensure high school graduates are ready for a job or college.
We know what moves the needle in public education – great teachers in classrooms and great principals leading schools. The research is overwhelming: the quality of teachers and principals are two of the top in-school factors for student success. I firmly believe that leaders should make data-informed decisions, and that’s why, based on this research, we should be rewarding our top-performing teachers and principals across the state.
I want South Carolina to become the top destination in the country for the best and brightest teachers and principals. We should create a merit pay structure statewide that offers bonuses to educators who are top performers – and we should offer an extra incentive to educators who are willing to bring their high-quality instruction to low performing schools. Infusing the principles of the free market into public education will improve outcomes for students.
Concurrent with statewide merit pay, South Carolina must expand education freedom for all families in the state. Education freedom is about ensuring parents are empowered to exercise their God-given right to choose what’s best for their children. As governor, I will work every day to expand education freedom until every family has the opportunity to choose the best education for their child.
Finally, as governor, I am committed to dramatically expanding career and technical education in South Carolina. For too long, schools and businesses have been ships passing in the night. Schools enroll students in career and technical education without actually talking to businesses about what skills are needed in the workforce. I’ve spent most of my life in the private sector and I know what it takes to bring business leaders into the conversation and ensure our students are being prepared with the skills needed for family-sustaining jobs. When schools and businesses are working together for student success, the entire state wins.
Few things are more important than education. As governor, I will focus every day on leading with students at the center of the conversation. Education funding is a core function of government and it should be treated as a treasure to invest in our next generation’s education.
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Ralph Norman was born and raised in South Carolina. After a successful career as a small business owner in real estate development, he entered into public service, first as a South Carolina State Representative, then as a U.S. Congressman in 2017. He’s now running to be the next Governor of South Carolina. 
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

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When Test Scores Drop, It’s Time For Real Education Reform

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Parents, educators and community leaders recently attended a Fairfax County School Board meeting in Virginia to ask questions about an <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/virginia-school-system-investigating-claims-staff-arranged-students-abortions-without-parental-consent">alleged coerced abortion case</a> involving two Hispanic minors at Centreville High School.
Centreville High School has a <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/virginia/districts/fairfax-county-public-schools/centreville-high-school-20462__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!z-3bjZRUUFzVpcjUUXeCnOmT5iO0fbyCiy8sK0gxSSxuJkQ3-e2SK8nKwzsT-qgLY1fjiIEr7WbqqhMTXRP5j4yv$">minority enrollment</a> of 69%, and 32% of its students are economically disadvantaged. For pregnancy matters, the school’s policy states that students are encouraged to discuss their concerns with their parents.
The whistleblower at the school, Zenaida Perez, is an English as a Second Language (ESL) Teacher and is originally from Cuba. She immigrated to the United States in 1990 and holds a master’s degree in ESL.
Perez claims that, beginning in 2022, she discovered a social worker was arranging and paying for minor girls to obtain abortions without parental knowledge or consent, which is required in the state of Virginia.
She reportedly brought her concerns to school administrators seven times. But instead of district officials addressing these allegations, Perez says she experienced bullying from administrators and attempts from the school to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/governor-orders-criminal-probe-into-alleged-abortions-at-centreville-high-school/article_a1c3bc41-9b17-4ac1-8187-70eaa7de4ca3.html__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!z-3bjZRUUFzVpcjUUXeCnOmT5iO0fbyCiy8sK0gxSSxuJkQ3-e2SK8nKwzsT-qgLY1fjiIEr7WbqqhMTXUI6JXVn$">undermine her integrity</a> by falsely accusing her of handing out pregnancy tests to students.
The allegations are deeply troubling given both of the girls involved were underage. Perez says that one student, who was five months pregnant and wanting to keep her baby, said she felt like she “had no choice.” The other girl told Perez she was terrified because her legal guardians did not know about her abortion.
Worried parents in attendance at the school board meeting questioned whether these were isolated incidents or part of a broader pattern of overriding parental rights and disregarding state law.
Most Americans <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/16/democrats-gop-parental-notification-abortion-laws-00097245__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!z-3bjZRUUFzVpcjUUXeCnOmT5iO0fbyCiy8sK0gxSSxuJkQ3-e2SK8nKwzsT-qgLY1fjiIEr7WbqqhMTXYCxdjTu$">support</a> parental consent for abortion as they recognize that life-and-death decisions should not be made without parental guidance. In Troxel v. Granville, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the fundamental rights of “parents in the care, custody, and control of their children,” and 36 states require parental involvement in abortion-related decisions for minors.
Despite the guarantee of parental rights, Virginia is attempting to strip them from the abortion equation by passing <a href="https://lis.virginia.gov/bill-details/20251/HJ1">House Joint Resolution 1</a>, a constitutional amendment that enshrines intentionally broad &#8220;reproductive freedom&#8221; as a right in the state constitution.
The Centreville High School case also underscores over a half-century of abuse by so-called &#8220;reproductive health care&#8221; advocates targeting minority communities for abortion.
Sadly, abortion peddlers know impoverished minority girls are abortion-vulnerable due to the broader inequalities they face, like racial prejudice, economic disparities, and access to authentic health care. They are also unlikely to resist coercion, especially when it comes from authority figures like school officials.
Their struggles are not just statistics to me, because I lived them. I grew up in the middle of the same kind of hardship after my mother’s <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://aul.org/author/sarah-zagorskiaul-org/__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!z-3bjZRUUFzVpcjUUXeCnOmT5iO0fbyCiy8sK0gxSSxuJkQ3-e2SK8nKwzsT-qgLY1fjiIEr7WbqqhMTXYscX0kk$">attempted abortion</a> with me. She had come to the U.S. from Honduras, already struggling to raise seven children she couldn’t provide for, trapped in an abusive home. She too believed she had no other choice.
She did defy coercion from her abortion physician in the end, but this kind of resistance is rare. Victims are often threatened, manipulated, and face real barriers like lack of money, absence of support, or fear for their safety.
I am thankful that the Governor Glenn Youngkin has directed the state police to open a criminal investigation into the case. Parental rights should not be usurped, and school employees have no right to hide secret abortions from parents.
Children need protection and parental guidance, especially when faced with an unplanned pregnancy, not forced secrecy by adults attempting to usurp fundamental rights of parents to make decisions regarding the wellbeing of their children.
Girls from marginalized communities, including Hispanic girls from Centreville High School, deserve better than betrayal from people they should trust and cover-ups by school bureaucrats.
* * *
<a href="https://aul.org/author/sarah-zagorskiaul-org/">Sarah Zagorski</a> is the Senior Director of Public Relations and Communication at Americans United for Life.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

High School Students Walking in a Hallway

Whistleblower Uncovers Secret Abortion Scandal At Virginia High School. Parents Deserve Better.

Abortion

Glenn Youngkin

Hispanics

Parenting

Pro-Life Movement

Teenagers

Virginia

As parents across the country push back against schools undermining their children’s faith, President Donald Trump will speak at the Museum of the Bible on Monday during a hearing on religious liberty in education, The Daily Wire has learned.
Trump will give remarks during the second meeting of the Religious Liberty Commission he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/donald-trump-to-establish-religious-liberty-commission">established</a> earlier this year to protect the rights of Americans to practice their faith. At the hearing, parents and students will discuss their experience of expressing their faith in the public schools. 
The Trump administration has placed a large emphasis on protecting religious liberties, from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-trump-guidance-allows-federal-employees-to-debate-religion-with-co-workers">issuing new guidance</a> that allows federal workers to be more open about their beliefs, to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/they-should-not-have-been-prosecuted-trump-pardons-23-pro-lifers-targeted-by-biden-doj">pardoning</a> pro-life Christians targeted by the Biden administration over peaceful demonstrations at abortion facilities. 
“The previous administration abused the federal government’s power to interfere with Americans’ First Amendment right to religious freedom,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told The Daily Wire. “They even used the Department of Justice to target peaceful people of faith, specifically Christians. This is exactly why President Trump established the Religious Liberty Commission to stop the emerging threats against Americans’ inalienable right to practice their religion freely.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi and Religious Liberty Commission Chair Dan Patrick will also speak at the hearing. 
The first panel to be heard at the event will be a group of elementary school students “who will share stories of challenges to their religious liberty,” according to the White House. Other panels will feature parents whose rights to raise their kids religiously were “challenged or abridged in the school system,” and students who faced challenges to their faith in higher education.
The goal of the hearing will be to “understand the historic landscape of religious liberty in the public education setting, identify present threats to religious liberty in America’s public school systems, and identify opportunities to secure religious liberty in this context for the future,” the White House told The Daily Wire. 
In May, Trump signed an executive order creating the commission with the task of producing a comprehensive report on the foundations of religious liberty and the top threats to it in the United States today. 
“President Trump is the greatest defender for people of faith in modern history and will continue to protect and promote America’s founding principle of religious freedom,” Rogers told The Daily Wire. 
Other notable commission members to be in attendance include Ben Carson, Senior Adviser to the White House Faith Office, Paula White, Pastor Franklin Graham, Catholic Bishop Robert Barron, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik, and Eric Metaxas. 
The first meeting of the commission took place in June, during which attendees <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trumps-religious-liberty-commission-meets-to-discuss-faith-policies">contrasted</a> the Trump administration’s approach to religious liberty with that of former President Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, Trump said that he would be making a “big announcement” in about two weeks related to the administration’s goals to protect religious liberty. The administration is also looking to protect churches following an attack on a Catholic school last week in Minneapolis by a transgender-identifying shooter who had a documented hatred of Christians. 
In recent years, the Supreme Court has handed advocates of religious liberty a number of major victories in education, including <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/breaking-supreme-court-affirms-religious-liberty-rules-in-favor-of-public-high-school-football-coach-punished-for-praying-after-games">siding</a> with a high school football coach who was disciplined for leading voluntary prayers after games. More recently, the court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-sides-with-parents-says-schools-cant-mandate-lgbt-curricula">sided</a> with a group of Maryland parents who argued that schools violated their religious beliefs by forcing them to participate in sexually-themed education.

Donald Trump Addresses The Faith And Freedom Road To The Majority Conference

EXCLUSIVE: Trump To Address Threats To Faith At Public Schools

White House

As a mother, advocate, and candidate for the Alabama State School Board, I’ve seen firsthand how the quiet march of artificial intelligence (AI) into our public school classrooms is happening with little public awareness and even less parental consent. While the tech industry touts AI as the future of education, the reality is far more complicated — and in many ways, far more dangerous.
This is not a debate about whether technology belongs in schools. It’s a call to pause, evaluate, and protect children before we hand over their data, emotions, and daily experiences to unregulated machines.
Across the country, AI tools are already embedded in software used in classrooms — often installed by default on school-issued devices without informing parents. These tools don’t just support learning; they track facial expressions, predict emotional states, and collect vast amounts of personal information. When I raised concerns in my local district, even administrators admitted they didn’t know the apps even existed on the machines.
It gets worse. Some AI systems store data on third-party servers, outside the reach of school district oversight. Parents rarely have access to this data, don’t know who can see it, and can’t opt out. In many cases, children are being profiled and emotionally analyzed without ever giving meaningful consent.
And this is happening to minors. Children who legally cannot open a bank account or create a social media profile without parental consent are being subjected to predictive algorithms inside the classroom.
Advocates of classroom AI say it improves safety by detecting potential threats. In tech-heavy communities like Huntsville, Alabama, some districts have adopted facial recognition and behavioral analytics to monitor students. But these programs raise urgent questions: What happens when a system flags a student incorrectly? What emotional harm comes from constant surveillance? And what precedent does this set for future generations?
We are raising children in what author Jonathan Haidt calls The Anxious Generation — a generation already plagued by rising anxiety, isolation, and digital dependence. Normalizing AI surveillance in their learning environments only exacerbates these problems. It teaches kids to perform for machines rather than relate to people. It chips away at trust between students and teachers, families and schools.
The good news? People are starting to take action.
First Lady Melania Trump has championed child protections in the digital age. She recently celebrated the signing of the Take It Down Act, legislation backed by the Trump administration to remove explicit AI-generated content involving minors from the internet. This is a critical step in the right direction.
But classroom AI poses a broader risk. We need transparency, oversight, and parental rights built into the law. I’m advocating for a model policy that any state can adopt:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">A ban on emotion-detecting and behavior-predicting AI systems in schools</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Mandatory parental opt-in before AI tools can be used on students</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Transparency requirements for all EdTech vendors</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Annual AI ethics and data privacy training for school staff</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">A statewide or state-level task force to assess AI impact, report findings, and recommend guardrails</li>
</ul>
Local school boards don’t need to wait for Washington or their state capitol. They can start now:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Audit every digital tool currently in use</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Inform parents</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Pause new AI adoption until clear guardrails are in place</li>
</ul>
We must ask ourselves: Are we solving real problems with AI in classrooms, or creating new ones we don’t yet understand?
This isn’t anti-technology. It’s pro-accountability. Pro-parent. Pro-child.
Whether you live in Alabama, California, or anywhere in between, your school district likely has AI embedded in ways you never imagined. It’s time to demand transparency, ask hard questions, and ensure that no child becomes a test subject for Big Tech.
Let’s make this a national conversation. Let’s protect the classroom.
* * *
Emily Jones, a North Alabama native and founder of the state’s first Moms for Liberty chapter, is running for the Alabama State School Board to restore excellence to a system in decline. Like many parents, COVID-era schooling opened her eyes to just how far our public education system has fallen—from slipping academic standards to a breakdown in trust between families and schools. With Alabama ranking 45th in the nation, we must ask: what are we doing to stop the slide? Emily is committed to rebuilding the vital partnership between parents and teachers and restoring classrooms as places where educators are empowered to teach and students are expected to thrive. It’s time to raise the bar for Alabama’s children.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Science and education concept. AI (Artificial Intelligence).

We Need Parental Consent For AI In The Classroom

Artificial Intelligence

Computer

school district

Technology

Years ago, my husband and I were on a family trip in the Bahamas, staying at the Atlantis resort. One afternoon, we wandered through their underground aquarium caves, marveling at the marine life. A little girl stood transfixed by a tank of moray eels, their jagged teeth gleaming ominously. Her mother shuddered, remarking, “Those are scary, aren’t they?” Undeterred, the girl darted to the next exhibit — a tank of barracudas — and exclaimed, “There’s something more awful than that, Mummy!”
Her innocent quest for the next frightful spectacle stuck with me, and lately, it’s become a metaphor for the conservative movement’s obsession with outrage.
On platforms like X, I see a similar pattern unfolding daily. A post about a classroom poster in Wisconsin — declaring, “If your parents aren’t accepting of your identity, I’m your mom now,” with rainbow flags and cartoon bears — ignites a firestorm. Commenters pile on, each trying to outdo the last: “This is grooming!” “It’s a cult!” “Wait until you hear about what’s happening in another district!”
The refrain echoes that little girl’s cry: There’s something more awful than that. We’re trapped in an outrage cycle, endlessly seeking the next shocking story about what’s happening to our kids, from controversial school policies to perceived overreaches by educators. But this one-upmanship isn’t moving us forward — it’s keeping us stuck.
The conservative movement has mastered the art of highlighting what’s wrong, and that awareness is crucial. Parents need to know when their rights are being undermined, whether by schools, government policies, or cultural shifts. But awareness alone isn’t enough. We can’t keep pointing to the next “awful” thing without channeling that energy into action.
Outrage may grab attention, but it’s the steps we take afterward that create change. It’s time to shift our focus from amplifying the problem to building solutions — and that’s exactly what we’re doing at the Heritage Foundation.
I’m thrilled to lead the newly launched Parental Rights Network at Heritage, and I’m joined by Pat Blackburn, a passionate advocate who brings invaluable experience to this fight. Together, we’re taking the lessons we learned from our time at Moms for Liberty — where we saw the power of grassroots organizing and the hunger parents have to protect their role in their children’s lives — and using them to create real momentum in the parental rights and family empowerment movement.
The Parental Rights Network is designed to foster collaboration and create momentum by connecting individuals and groups across the country. Anyone can join the Network through a link on our landing page, opening the door to a community dedicated to strengthening parental rights.
Our mission is clear: we want to move beyond the outrage cycle and toward tangible outcomes. That means equipping parents with the tools to advocate for their rights, connecting them with like-minded communities, and pushing for policies that prioritize parental authority over government overreach.
To make this happen, we’re hosting weekly calls where members can share resources, tools, and information, and connect with others across the country to build a stronger, unified movement. We’ll also send out a weekly newsletter recapping key updates, insights, and opportunities to stay engaged. Instead of just sharing the next alarming story, we’re encouraging parents to take action — attend a school board meeting, engage with local lawmakers, or join forces with other families to demand transparency and accountability in every aspect when it comes to their kids.
The Network isn’t just about pointing out what’s wrong. It’s about building a coalition that can right those wrongs.
The conservative movement has a choice. We can keep chasing “something more awful than that,” letting outrage define our response, or we can harness that energy to create a future where parents are empowered and respected as the primary decision-makers for their children. At the Parental Rights Network, we’re choosing the latter. Join us by signing up through our landing page, participating in our weekly calls, and staying informed with our newsletter.
Together, we can move from outrage to action — because our kids deserve more than a cycle of anger; they deserve a movement that delivers real change.
* * *
Tiffany Justice is the chair of the Parental Rights Initiative at the Heritage Foundation.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday">Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
Correction: A previous subheading to this article read &#8220;Moms for Liberty joins forces with The Heritage Foundation to create real momentum for parental rights.&#8221; Moms for Liberty, however, is not working directly with the Heritage Foundation. We regret the error.

Schoolgirl runs from school bus to hug mother

Beyond Outrage: A Call To Action For Conservative Parents

Children

Heritage Foundation

Parents rights

In 2007, when Hillary Clinton was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/us/politics/26DEBATE-TRANSCRIPT.html">asked</a> in a Democratic primary debate whether she would be comfortable having “King and King” — a children’s picture book about a prince who marries another man — read to her second-grade child as part of the school curriculum, she responded that it was a “matter of parental discretion.”
It’s remarkable how far off the deep end the Left has gone in just a few short years.
This week, the Supreme Court will <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_calendars/MonthlyArgumentCalApril2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hear a case</a> brought by a group of parents claiming what Clinton argued years ago: Parents should be able to decide whether or not their children read LGBTQ storybooks at school.
Oral arguments will be heard for the parental rights case Mahmoud v. Taylor, which <a href="https://becketfund.org/media/religious-parents-ask-supreme-court-to-restore-opt-outs-for-pride-storybooks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">originated</a> when the Montgomery County Board of Education introduced LGBTQ storybooks to the elementary school curriculum and revoked its existing parental notice and opt-out policies. Muslim, Jewish, and Christian parents challenged the school district’s ban on elementary school opt-outs on the grounds that the policy burdened their constitutional right to free exercise of religion.
The diverse coalition of parents isn’t asking the school district to remove the LGBTQ storybooks from classrooms. They simply want the option to remove their children from the classroom when content is taught that conflicts with their religious beliefs. Parents are the primary educators of their children, and that vocation doesn’t stop when kids begin to attend school.
The board of education added storybooks that introduce gender ideology and sexuality to children as young as three or four years old. These storybooks are transparently part of an activist push to introduce children to same-sex relationships, transgender ideology, and LGBTQ vocabulary at a startlingly young age.
“Born Ready” features a female main character who repeatedly claims, “Inside, I’m a boy,” and whose parents immediately start treating her like a boy. “Not everything needs to make sense. This is about love,” Penelope’s mom tells her confused older brother. The book’s author, Jodie Patterson, serves on the board of the Human Rights Campaign, a radical LGBTQ advocacy group.
Another book in the Montgomery County curriculum, <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">titled</a> “My Rainbow,” is about a transgender-identifying boy’s desire to have long hair to fit in with “cisgender girls.” Trinity Neal, a transgender-identifying boy, and his mother, DeShanna, a nonbinary activist, wrote the story based on their experiences. DeShanna <a href="https://history.delaware.gov/lgbtq/my-rainbow-and-trinity-neals-rainbow-wig/">advocated</a> for Medicaid coverage of Trinity’s puberty blockers, resulting in the first Medicaid coverage of transgender medical procedures in their home state of Delaware. Subsequently, Trinity <a href="https://history.delaware.gov/lgbtq/my-rainbow-and-trinity-neals-rainbow-wig/">became</a> the first minor in the state to change his birth certificate’s gender marker from male to female.
“Jacob’s Room to Choose,” about a cross-dressing boy whose school accommodates him by abolishing gendered bathrooms, was <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">published</a> through the American Psychological Association’s children’s book imprint. APA has prominently <a href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2024/02/policy-supporting-transgender-nonbinary#:~:text=%E2%80%9CAPA%20also%20affirms%20the%20essential,appropriate%20youth%20self%2Dadvocacy.%E2%80%9D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">supported</a> transgender medical procedures for minors and advocated for so-called “gender-affirming care.”
The other books at the heart of Mahmoud v. Taylor are similarly written at an elementary school reading level but focus on complex adult topics of sexuality and gender identity. “Love, Violet” <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">focuses</a> on a same-sex relationship between elementary school classmates. “Pride Puppy” <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">instructs</a> readers to identify leather, underwear, a lip ring, an intersex flag, and a drag king in its illustrations.
“What Are Your Words?” <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">encourages</a> kids to change their pronouns, promoting confusing pairs like “ey/em,” “ze/zir,” and “xe/xir,” and using they/them pronouns to refer to individuals in the story. And “Intersection Allies,” another book <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/wu2be63z1cfa0jg6fq3je/APiCjohPQCCnkdX6jXcrOIE/Book%20Covers%20%2B%20Pages/Storybooks%20(Full%20text)?dl=0&amp;e=3&amp;rlkey=te8vom170eoxvb57ivge6ecue&amp;subfolder_nav_tracking=1">featured</a> in the case, includes a foreword by critical race theorist and activist Kimberle Crenshaw.
These storybooks are examples of radical propaganda written by progressive activists to shape the hearts and minds of the next generation. Kids may not know better than to believe what they’re taught, but American adults aren’t so convinced by these woke storybooks. Only 3% of Americans <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20250115160612/Religious-Freedom-Index-2024-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">believe</a> that instruction on human sexuality and gender identity is appropriate for pre-K or kindergarten-aged children. And 77% of Americans <a href="https://becketnewsite.s3.amazonaws.com/20250115160612/Religious-Freedom-Index-2024-Report.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">believe</a> that parents should be able to opt their children out of gender and sexuality instruction.
Just a few years ago, I pulled my children out of Fairfax County Schools because of the progressive garbage they were being exposed to in their classrooms on a daily basis. My family is not alone. There is a large movement of parents who have made the same decision we have, but not every family is in a position to do so. Parents should undoubtedly have the right to opt their children out of reading these radical activist storybooks: Children are not wards of the state.
When public schools add storybooks that teach gender ideology as truth, the state has violated the right of parents to raise their children in their religious tradition, along with teaching them the corresponding religious beliefs about gender, human sexuality, and the meaning of marriage.
The government has no business mandating that elementary students learn radical gender ideology. Fortunately, parents will do whatever it takes to protect their children and exercise their parental rights — even if it means taking the case to the Supreme Court.
* * *
Terry Schilling is a parental rights advocate and president of the American Principles Project.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Mixed race teacher reading to class

Will SCOTUS Back Parents When It Comes To LGBTQ Storybooks?

Books

LGBTQ

SCOTUS

Unsurprisingly, there is tremendous fearmongering marked by falsehoods from the opposition regarding President Trump’s <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">executive order</a> to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Public school personnel are already claiming that special education funding has been cut and that closing the department will devastate their ability to educate students. These claims are unfounded.
Amongst the loudest clamoring are the teachers union bosses. Randi Weingarten, head of the second largest teachers union, the American Federation for Teachers, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/randi-weingarten-spitting-mad-about-evisceration-education-department" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in her own words</a>, is “spitting mad.” Note this is the Weingarten who leveraged her political power to <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/05/biden-believes-in-science-so-long-as-the-teachers-unions-approve/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">directly influence the CDC</a> to keep public schools closed to children outrageously far longer than necessary.
Following the signing of the executive order, the American Federation for Teachers issued a <a href="https://www.aft.org/press-release/educators-professors-school-districts-unions-unite-challenge-trump-attempt-dismantle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> announcing the filing of a lawsuit by a coalition of educators, school districts, and unions against the Trump administration. Regarding the recent cutting of the massive bureaucracy bloat within the federal department and those responsible for woke DEI initiatives, the press release <a href="https://www.aft.org/press-release/educators-professors-school-districts-unions-unite-challenge-trump-attempt-dismantle" target="_blank" rel="noopener">read</a>: “Mass firings of these hardworking people planned by the Trump administration will harm students and schools.”
Clearly overlooking the reality that public education is failing to effectively educate <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-national-test-scores-make-undeniable-case-for-school-choice" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seven out of ten</a> schoolchildren in the basics of reading and math, the teacher union is rushing to legal action in an attempt to maintain the status quo, which is a death sentence for children’s futures.
John B. King Jr, who was the U.S. Secretary of Education for a stint during the Obama administration, is another Democrat working overtime to dispense fear to Americans over the plan to dismantle the disastrous Department of Education. In a recent short <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/28/nx-s1-5341462/trump-education-department-financial-aid-layoffs-arrests-international-students" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview with NPR</a>, King kept his main talking point on repeat, asserting that “People are very worried.” Continuing, he commented about the things he’s “most worried about.” King went on, “…I’m very worried…” The painful and brief interview concluded with a final question to which King tripled down on his anxiety-spreading effort. “I’m really worried….I’m worried…I’m worried…”
The fearmongering is unfounded. President Trump, in his address prior to signing the “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/improving-education-outcomes-by-empowering-parents-states-and-communities/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Improving Education Outcomes by Empowering Parents, States, and Communities</a>” executive order into law, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjnoGgEJvLs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">communicated</a> that “Pell Grants, Title I funding, resources for children with disabilities and special needs will be preserved — fully preserved.” He explained that those programs would be “redistributed to various other agencies and departments that will take very good care of them.”
More specifically, special education programs will <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-and-defense-secretary-hegseth-deliver-remarks-on-f-47-fighter-jet/657517" target="_blank" rel="noopener">move to</a> the Department of Health and Human Services. Student loans will <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-and-defense-secretary-hegseth-deliver-remarks-on-f-47-fighter-jet/657517" target="_blank" rel="noopener">head to</a> the Small Business Administration (SBA), which is a commonsense change from education policy personnel managing the <a href="https://www.campusreform.org/article/40-18-trillion-student-loans-late-payments-trump-seeks-abolish-dept-ed/27711" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.8 trillion loan portfolio</a>. And, importantly, states will be freed from the red tape of Washington D.C., empowering them to make decisions concerning how best to educate the children of their state.
So, what is being cut? Simply put, the billions of dollars spent fueling the promotion of radical ideologies to children, such as gender ideology, Critical Race Theory, and an anti-American worldview. As one example, on January 23, the U.S. Department of Education, under the president&#8217;s direction, <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-takes-action-eliminate-dei" target="_blank" rel="noopener">began taking action</a> to “eliminate harmful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives.” That <a href="https://www.chalkboardnews.com/issues/cultural-issues/article_89d2f95a-da74-11ef-881f-c31173f69a5c.html?seyid=48320" target="_blank" rel="noopener">included</a> placing personnel who lead DEI initiatives on administrative leave, the deletion of more than 200 webpages of DEI resources that “promote or endorse” the “harmful ideological programs,” and ending DEI contracts totaling over $2.5 million.
Then, on January 29, President Trump signed the “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling</a>” executive order. It <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> that “In recent years…parents have witnessed schools indoctrinate their children in radical, anti-American ideologies while deliberately blocking parental oversight.” Specifically, the Secretary of Education, Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Health and Human Services must consult with the Attorney General to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">create a plan</a> within 90 days to end indoctrination and protect parental rights.
Additionally, federal bureaucrats pushing paper in Washington D.C. have been cut. Already, <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-initiates-reduction-force" target="_blank" rel="noopener">half of the positions</a> within the U.S. Department of Education have been eliminated as education rightfully returns to the states. Big government control of K-12 education has been a massive failure and has not increased student learning. Block granting the money back to the states will enhance efficiency and effectiveness while also providing increased accountability for student academic learning.
Don’t listen to the lies or anxiety-induced talking points. Dismantling the U.S. Department of Education is a win for America and a much-needed step forward toward the goal of successfully educating our future generation.
Hats off to President Trump for taking this longtime-coming, much needed action to ensure that gone will be the days of only three out of ten public school children learning to read or do math proficiently.
* * *
Dr. Keri D. Ingraham is a Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute, Director of the American Center for Transforming Education, and a Senior Fellow at Independent Women’s Forum.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Rally Held In Support Of Department Of Education And Schools

Fearmongering And Falsehoods Over Education Dept. Shutdown

Department of Education

President Trump

Randi Weingarten

Student Loans

Teachers Unions

The U.S. Department of Education is an $80 billion failure. For decades, it’s promised better schools and brighter futures, yet delivered little beyond bureaucracy and stagnation. President Trump is right: it’s time to end the Department of Education and hand states the reins.
In Tennessee, we understand that the best education system considers the unique needs of every student and empowers parents to choose what’s best for their child. We also have a proven track record of stewarding tax dollars wisely to achieve the maximum benefit for our students and teachers. By returning education to the states, we can once again make an American education the gold standard across the globe.
Since the department’s creation in 1979, the federal government has spent more than $6 trillion on education, yet our kids aren’t reading any better, solving equations any faster, or competing stronger globally. The “Nation’s Report Card” shows reading and math scores for 17-year-olds stuck where they were in the 1970s. Meanwhile, administrative staff in public schools has ballooned, growing by 19 times the rate of student growth since 2000, while resources are failing to make it into the classroom and teachers drown in paperwork. This isn’t just waste – it’s a sacrifice of our children’s future.
Worse yet, the department has become a megaphone for ideological agendas that undermine parents’ rights. The Biden Education Department pushed critical race theory in classrooms and threatened funding to schools that didn’t allow boys in girls’ sports. That’s not education – it’s ideology. In Tennessee, we’re focused on teaching our kids the facts – real civics and hard science – so they can think for themselves and take pride in our nation’s great story.
Education simply isn’t Washington’s job. Before 1979, states like Tennessee built school systems without a federal babysitter. That’s why President Ronald Reagan called the department a “bureaucracy that’s outlived its usefulness” and pushed to shift power back to parents and community leaders. Newt Gingrich’s 1994 Contract with America again called for abolishing the Department of Education. Today, President Trump is making good on generations of promises.
Tennessee, like many states, has proven that when parents and communities lead, students succeed. Our state has led the nation in academic recovery post-COVID and implemented literacy programs helping kids read at higher levels than ever before. And with the passage of universal school choice in Tennessee this year, thanks to President Trump’s support, we’ve put parents in the driver’s seat.
Look beyond Tennessee and the evidence piles up. Mississippi’s “Miracle” lifted 4th-grade reading scores above the national average thanks to state-driven literacy reforms. Florida’s investments in choice and education since 1999 have helped low-income students rise from 33rd to 1st nationally in reading scores, while graduation rates increased and dropout rates were cut nearly in half.
President Trump can end the federal government’s authority over education because the Constitution never granted it in the first place. The Department of Education’s main role is sending states money, which Washington somehow succeeded in doing before creating the department. Other parts of the federal government are likely better equipped to serve students, such as the Treasury with student loans.
Cutting off the bureaucracy does not mean turning off the funding. States already handle 90% of K-12 funding; the federal 10% — about $1.8 billion for Tennessee — can be managed smarter at home. We’ve done it before: Tennessee’s Medicaid block grant has saved taxpayers a billion dollars over three years while improving care. Imagine what we could do with education dollars, cutting waste and pouring resources into classrooms, not cubicles.
President Trump’s plan means hope for America’s children. It opens doors to state-driven innovation, unleashing the creative potential of all 50 states. And it gives parents — not Washington — more control over the education of their children.
It’s time to end this failed experiment and return education to the states. We know our children. We know what works. Let states lead — and watch our kids thrive.
* * *
Bill Lee is the 50th Governor of Tennessee.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

The 2024 Republican National Convention

Education Belongs In The States, Not Washington

Tennessee

When an obnoxious group of political activists suddenly goes silent, it&#8217;s usually a sign that they&#8217;re regrouping in some way. That&#8217;s especially true after the activists suffer a crushing defeat in a national election. It&#8217;s only natural to assume that, under those circumstances, the activists have gone underground for a bit in order to refine their messaging. They&#8217;re putting their best minds together to come up with a platform that might appeal to more people. Or at the very least, they&#8217;re taking steps to make sure that, when they emerge from hiding, they&#8217;re not seen as even crazier and less convincing than they were before. That&#8217;s the bare minimum you&#8217;d expect. Think about how the Indians realized they were on the losing side of the whole debate over &#8220;who gets the land,&#8221; so they came back and decided to settle for owning a bunch of casinos instead. There&#8217;s a strategic retreat, then an effective comeback.
This is the playbook that we&#8217;ve seen again and again. But after this week, it&#8217;s clear trans activists and the LGBT movement have thrown out the manual. Following their rejection at the ballot box in November, trans activists have decided against the idea of moderating their insanity. Instead, they have elected to double down on the most extreme and demented aspects of their ideology.
They have devolved to a degree that, if you weren&#8217;t paying attention, you might have thought was impossible. We are now at the point where trans activists are embracing cruelty that isn&#8217;t even cloaked with the usual lies about &#8220;scientific consensus&#8221; or anything like that. These people are now endorsing child abuse, without reservation, right out in the open. That&#8217;s always what they&#8217;ve stood for. Now they&#8217;re not even attempting to hide it.
In order to understand the depths of depravity, you need to watch the scene that unfolded at a school board meeting on Thursday in Deerfield, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. A woman named Nicole Georgas began by telling the school board that her daughter is a 13-year-old student at a local middle school. And recently, her 13-year-old was forced to share a bathroom with a male student. Watch:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="005 PARENT SPEAKS OUT 1" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5QB6E-Aqh9Y?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Before we play the rest of Nicole Georgas&#8217; statement, it&#8217;s worth pointing out that, strangely enough, no one on the Left is calling this situation a &#8220;constitutional crisis.&#8221; She&#8217;s pointing out, correctly, that the state of Illinois is defying Trump&#8217;s executive order on gender ideology. And in the process, they&#8217;re disregarding the civil rights of children at a systemic level. If you listened to the Left&#8217;s complaints about how outrageous it was that the Trump administration ignored a judge&#8217;s order when he deported Venezuelan terrorists the other day, you might think that they&#8217;d be equally upset about what the state of Illinois is doing in this case. But of course there&#8217;s no outrage, because these people are more than happy to ignore orders when they feel like it. And the state of Illinois should lose federal funding immediately as a result.
If you don&#8217;t agree with that, then you&#8217;ll change your mind after you hear the rest of Nicole Georgas&#8217; statement.
Listen as she explains what the adults at this middle school allegedly forced her child to do, against her will:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="006 PARENT SPEAKS OUT 2" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lqka-RRQ79M?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
To restate: This woman is saying that school officials forced her 13-year-old daughter — and several other young girls — to change in front of a male student in a locker room at a middle school. Those school officials, she said, include the district’s assistant superintendent for student services, the school’s assistant principal, and the director for student services.
If this claim is true — and as you&#8217;ll see in a moment, there&#8217;s no reason to doubt that it is — then the school officials who forced these girls to change in front of a boy are guilty of sexual assault. You could probably add kidnapping and child endangerment charges as well. The fact that this took place in a school should not provide any kind of cover for these people. If anything, it should make the charges even more serious. And whatever charges are brought, it&#8217;d still be too light of a punishment. Try to imagine what you&#8217;d do, as a parent, if you learned that an adult was forcing your daughter to get naked in front of a male, against her will. Criminal charges would probably be the least of that particular adult&#8217;s problems.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-1557-the-matt-walsh-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WATCH: The Matt Walsh Show</a></h3>
At a minimum, we need conservative DAs to start pressing those kinds of charges against the people pushing this madness. This goes beyond the realm of a political debate or a &#8220;constitutional crisis.&#8221; This is child abuse. And if there were any good-faith members of the trans activist community — if any of them were capable of some level of basic human decency — they would admit this. They would acknowledge that, indeed, it&#8217;s possible to go too far in the process of affirming gender ideology. And that point is reached when you&#8217;re forcing children to expose themselves to members of the opposite sex.
But because there are no good-faith trans activists, you can probably guess how this mother&#8217;s statement was received. As soon as she was finished, &#8220;boos&#8221; rang out in the room. One person asked her why she was &#8220;obsessed&#8221; with the genitals of children, which is one of those stock arguments these activists use all the time, even though it makes no sense whatsoever. They could be exposing themselves to you and your children in the park, and then when you object to it, they&#8217;ll accuse you of being &#8220;obsessed.&#8221; Then, a few other activists spoke at the school board meeting, and they continued to take cheap shots at the mother. Watch:
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This is the dominant mode of thought, such as it is, among trans activists at the moment. If you&#8217;re a mother who doesn&#8217;t want your daughter to be forced to strip in front of males in middle school, then you&#8217;re a &#8220;bully.&#8221; You&#8217;re an extremist, as identified by Left-wing propaganda outfits. You&#8217;re &#8220;obsessed&#8221; with genitalia. And on and on.
One particularly threatening trans activist took things a step further, and railed against &#8220;white supremacy&#8221; and the &#8220;white God.&#8221; And this person did so while wearing a shirt that reads, &#8220;Protect trans kids,&#8221; with a picture of a knife. Watch:
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The framing of course is that the male student is being &#8220;targeted.&#8221; So they can force a girl to undress in a place she doesn&#8217;t want to undress, in front of this male student. And the girl isn&#8217;t being targeted in that scenario, supposedly. Instead, the male is being targeted. He&#8217;s not getting to see the girls undress, so he&#8217;s the victim here. It doesn&#8217;t exactly take Freud to understand the psychology underlying this whole movement.
To the extent that any of these activists presented something approaching an argument, it was to suggest that actually, these girls did have the option of requesting private changing rooms. That came up a few times during the school board meeting. But I&#8217;m going to focus on this one clip, featuring a trans-identifying individual who uses the name &#8220;Charlie.&#8221; Charlie uses &#8220;they/he&#8221; pronouns, so we&#8217;re going to go ahead and use &#8220;she&#8221; to describe her, because it seems like it&#8217;s probably the most accurate option. Charlie says that she also has a trans middle-schooler, which of course is maybe the least surprising revelation imaginable. If trans activists are good at anything, it&#8217;s indoctrinating their own children. In any event, here&#8217;s Charlie&#8217;s big moment, where she reads from an Illinois law that&#8217;s supposedly about &#8220;human rights&#8221;:
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This is the extent of the concessions that these people were willing to offer. They&#8217;re saying that anyone who &#8220;wants more privacy,&#8221; under the law, can use a separate bathroom. They can request some other accommodation.
Put aside the fact that, in this case, that other accommodation apparently wasn&#8217;t provided. What they don&#8217;t address is the obvious question, which is: Why can&#8217;t the boy request the &#8220;other accommodation,&#8221; in this scenario? Why do all of these girls have to request their own accommodations, but the male doesn&#8217;t? The reason is apparently that it would make him feel bad if he isn&#8217;t included in the girl&#8217;s locker room. But the fact that his presence makes girls feel bad — feel unsafe and vulnerable — simply doesn&#8217;t register. As you heard from that trans activist, the girls&#8217; feelings of &#8220;discomfort&#8221; are simply considered invalid. The trans activist never explains why this discomfort is invalid. Neither does the Illinois law.
But we all know the explanation, which is that these activists, above all else, are sadists who crave power. They relish the prospect of forcing women and girls to take part in this charade. From their perspective, the more degrading the process is, the better. Everyone must be forced to participate. Whatever mental harm 10 or 20 middle-school girls might suffer as a result, they simply don&#8217;t care. Their only goal is to ensure that the male in the scenario gets his satisfaction.
The argument from these trans activists only got worse from there. Here&#8217;s a couple of them:
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So the second woman just yells about pronouns. Nothing new there. And the first woman makes a familiar logistical argument, saying some trans-identifying children supposedly &#8220;pass.&#8221; And therefore, unless we want to inspect their bodies, we need to just accept whatever those kids say.
First of all, of course, it&#8217;s not true that any &#8220;trans-identifying&#8221; middle-schoolers actually &#8220;pass&#8221; for a member of the opposite gender. The child in this situation certainly didn&#8217;t come close to passing. And for that matter, none of the activists at this school board meeting came close to &#8220;passing,&#8221; either. Humans have evolved for a very long time to develop certain sex-specific traits, and to perceive those traits in others. A child who throws on a wig from Party City isn&#8217;t going to overcome that.
But even if we assume, for the sake of argument, that some child somehow manages to fool everyone at school into thinking he&#8217;s really a girl, it&#8217;s still completely insane to endorse the idea that he should then have access to girls&#8217; locker rooms. Just because he manages to fool people and sneak into those locker rooms doesn&#8217;t make his actions justified. It&#8217;s like saying a bank robber is justified if no one notices he pulled off the heist. Deception is still wrong, whether it&#8217;s detected or not.
This is a basic moral principle — one of many basic moral principles that trans activists have abandoned. If this school board meeting demonstrates anything, it&#8217;s that these people are never going to become more moderate or sensible, no matter how badly they lose national elections. As I&#8217;ve pointed out before, most of the adult trans activists who continue in the fight are either trans themselves or have trans kids — or in some cases, both (as we saw at this school board meeting). They will never let it go, because to let it go would be to admit that they&#8217;ve maimed and mutilated themselves or their children. That is a level of self-reflection and acceptance that trans activists, as the ultimate narcissists, are simply incapable of achieving.
What that means is that it&#8217;s now the responsibility of law enforcement officials, at both the state and federal levels, to prevent trans activists from continuing to abuse children. There are clearly no limits to their depravity at this point. If we want to end this sickness, executive orders and court cases simply aren&#8217;t enough. The school officials who embraced this perversion need to go to prison. The school districts that enforce these policies need to lose federal funding. Simply put, there is no legal penalty too excessive for child abusers. And if we want to protect children and prevent anything like this from happening again, it&#8217;s time that the people responsible started facing those penalties.

MixCollage-18-Mar-2025-01-49-PM-3339

Trans Activists Hijack A School Board Meeting To Verbally Attack A Concerned Mother

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