Tl;dr: It will be bad.
Project 2025 is a terrifying proposal for running the U.S. government, sponsored by ultra-conservative interest groups. I am a mom, an educator, and a queer person who is in fear that marginalized folks will lose more rights. I am terrified by Project 2025’s treatment of public education and I’m invested in ensuring everyone knows how Project 2025 will ruin public education. I am not exaggerating. Project 2025 will destroy public education.
Right now, Project 2025 is theoretical. It is not policy, it is a guideline for conservative Republican elected officials and policy-makers.
It is a guideline for how to undo the social, political, and environmental gains we have made as a nation in the past half-century. It aims to bring the U.S. to a place where only conservative, cisgender, heterosexual white men have freedom.
Many (MANY) parts of Project 2025 make me feel alarmed. In this article, I focus only on how Project 2025 will destroy public education.
If you value education, then Project 2025 will negatively affect you.
Project 2025, as stated on its website (which I am purposely not linking here) was “Brought together by over 100 respected organizations from across the conservative movement… (to)… dismantle… the unaccountable Deep State, taking power away from Leftist elites and giving it back to the American people and duly-elected President.”
For Project 2025, “respected organizations” include the Moms for Liberty Foundation and the Family Research Council. These, and others who support Project 2025, are designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups. Again, I am not linking to them. I do not wish to drive traffic to their websites.
Let me be crystal clear. I am not complaining about parties with a difference in opinion or political strategy.
I am highlighting a movement that is dangerous to women, people of color, the entire LGBTQIA+ community (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning, intersex, asexual, and other identities that are not heterosexual and/or cisgender), immigrants, poor people, old people, and more. Their hate-fueled philosophy endangers people you know and love. This philosophy is not a mere difference in opinion.
Many stories in the media summarize Project 2025 and highlight how it’s terrible for multiple groups of people. Here, I want to specifically point out a few of the ways Project 2025 will destroy public education.
Fair warning: I did not read through the entire Mandate for Leadership Project 2025 document to write this as I wanted to avoid having a rage-induced heart attack. Instead, I narrowed my focus down to the sections on the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, and the subsection on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. After reading Dr. Erica Buchanan-Rivera’s takeaways, I looked at the introduction as well. Unlike the Project 2025 authors, I believe in responsible and ethical reporting and use of sources.
This is how Project 2025 will destroy public education:
Project 2025 will eliminate the Department of Education.
The functions carried out by the Department of Education will be divvied into other departments such as Labor, Health and Human Services, and Justice. This will make it harder to consolidate knowledge of education across programs and policies.
The authors of Project 2025 do not believe in supporting children from low-income families. They believe that equality (everyone gets the same thing) is better than equity (everyone gets what they need). We know that lower-income children, as well as children from families with addiction, children with learning disabilities, and children with physical disabilities, may need a little extra help and support during periods of their education in order to achieve the same as their unburdened peers.
But the thing is, and any educator will confirm this, families and children change over time. Some children may need more services at certain points, and then fewer services at other points. Building policies with an equality lens means every student gets the same support- the same size slice of pie- whether they need it or not. This leaves some pie uneaten and some children starving.
Kids from low-income families take an especially big hit with Project 2025’s proposed plan. Here are some of the ways Project 2025 will specifically destroy public education for low-income families:
- Eliminating Head Start, an early childhood education program that provides free services for low-income families. 165 schools in Vermont partner with Head Start and Head Start employs more than 450 people in Vermont.
- Eliminating the GEAR UP Program. Gear UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs). GEAR UP provides services to high-poverty middle and high schools, as well as scholarships for low-income students. GEAR UP serves nearly 3000 students in Vermont.
- Eliminating the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. I’m personally a few years from having my loans forgiven and so am just one of many Americans who benefitted from the student loan payment pause the program also wants to eliminate. PSLF is an incentive to stay in underpaying education jobs, as the benefit of loan forgiveness is financially motivating to those with advanced degrees and advanced degree loans. Without it, I fear that more great educators will leave the workforce.
Project 2025 will destroy public education by giving conservative leaders and interest groups more control over education at school and at home by:
- Stricter oversight of teachers through so-called “parental rights.”
- Project 2025’s narrative includes the mandate that “At the state level, states should require schools to post classroom materials online to provide maximum transparency to parents.” Posting classroom materials online isn’t a bad idea, and many (if not most) teachers already follow this practice. I worry about what will happen when it’s required for “transparency.”
- This relates to their push for a “Parents’ Bill of Rights.” While the phrase “parents’ rights” sounds like a good thing on the surface, it’s a phrase used by hate groups such as Moms for Liberty to fight against curriculum inclusive of Black history and LGBTQIA+ rights and other parts of civil rights history.
- Arresting teachers and librarians for trans-affirming materials.
- The authors of Project 2025 equate being transgender with being a child predator. This is a false correlation, transphobic, and is part of a terrifying, growing movement to label trans and queer people as “groomers.”
- Project 2025 makes its stance on this crystal clear by stating “Pornography, [is] manifested today in the omnipresent propagation of transgender ideology and sexualization of children… Educators and public librarians who purvey it should be classed as registered sex offenders.”
Educators are not giving children pornography, and if they are, they should definitely be fired. Trans-inclusive children’s and young adult books are age-appropriate and can be life-saving to youth who need to see themselves and their loved ones represented. Queer and trans youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide than their peers. If a book can save a life by giving students a window into their own identity, why would anyone be against it?
- Taking money from public schools by allowing parents to use tax dollars for private schools.
- Eliminating funding for PBS and NPR, which the project authors call “tyrannical.” Big Bird, tyrannical? Stop it.
- Not only will this eliminate federal funding for quality educational entertainment like Sesame Street, Wild Kratts, and Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood but will affect the production of resources for parents and teachers. While not directly related to the classroom, PBS and NPR are one of many federally-funded services that help to educate our communities.
Project 2025 demonizes Critical Race Theory (CRT), LGBTQIA+ affirming practices, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs in general.
Before we dive in, here are some brief definitions:
- CRT is a legal theory that boils down to recognizing racism exists and listening to people who have experienced racism. It has been applied in education theory, but K-12 students are NOT being taught CRT in schools.
- LGBTQIA+ affirming practices include things that make LGBTQIA+ people feel welcome and supported. This can include simple practices like using the pronouns a student asks you to use, changing forms to say “parents or guardians” instead of “mom or dad,” and including LGBTQIA+ voices and stories in the curriculum.
- DEI programs are any initiatives that seek to educate about, support, or affirm marginalized people.
What this means in terms of how Project 2025 will destroy public education is:
- Say goodbye to any hope of comprehensive sex education.
The project proposes a “Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education (HMRE) Program” which focuses on “healthy” marriages and relationships (in their eyes, this means a man and a woman). The HMRE program aims to be proactive, as they think that if everyone knows how to have a “healthy” relationship there will be no unwanted pregnancies or STIs.
Factually, contraceptives are more cost-effective than raising a baby. Contraceptives are also cheaper than pre- and post-natal care.
- Changes to IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act).
Project 2025 wants money for IDEA to be “block grants” that go directly to states.
According to the non-partisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, block grants mean that every state gets a set amount of money, rather than an amount being based on need. The amount of money each state gets through a block grant can be based on factors such as population or how much the state used in previous years. This fits with conservative’s obsession with equality over equity.
The center also reports that block grants have negative outcomes, because “fixed annual funding would render the programs unable to automatically respond to increased need, as they do today. As need increases, states would have to cut eligibility or benefits or establish waiting lists to stay within capped funding.”
Another way the project wants to reinforce equality over equity is by eliminating the Equity in IDEA policy that currently requires school districts to track if they have a disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minorities in special education services. Historically, non-white students were placed in special education for not conforming to white norms rather than for needing accommodations for learning.
- Retroactive Policies on Gender and Gender Identity.
Project 2025 calls for going back to work done by former Secretary of Education Devos, (who had no experience working in public schools) which defined “sex” in Title IX to mean only “biological sex recognized at birth.” This would erase all the protections for transgender and nonbinary students that are currently present under Title IX. This would prohibit transgender students from playing on sports teams that correspond to their gender rather than their legal sex.
Furthermore, they want school employees prohibited from calling a student by a name or pronoun that doesn’t correspond to their legal name or sex without written parental permission.
As if this wasn’t enough, they include a caveat that “No public institution may require an education employee or contractor to use a pronoun that does not match a person’s biological sex if contrary to the employee’s or contractor’s religious or moral convictions.” Essentially, if an educator claims their religion mandates bigotry, there are no repercussions for students, families, or colleagues. This goes against not only common decency but Vermont’s own Agency of Education’s guidelines
- They do not want students to learn about racism, or to recognize that people of color have experienced racism.
Project 2025 assumes that any discussion of race, racism, or privilege is critical race theory. One of the many quotes that stuck out to me was “School assignments in which students must defend the false idea that America is systemically racist… are actively disrupting the values that hold communities together such as equality under the law and colorblindness.”
I thought we’d accepted that colorblindness, or the idea of “not seeing color,” did no one any good. I also hope we can all accept that our country, built on slavery, is systemically racist. Admitting we have a problem is a step towards righting our historical wrongs.
- Have fewer federal restrictions on charter schools.
Charter schools are controversial, as they are already less regulated than typical public schools. They also tend to have increased racial segregation and discrimination against students with disabilities. This is probably why Project 2025 is pro-charter school. - Prohibiting funding, accreditation, or other official titles or funding streams to enforce DEI initiatives and policies as a condition for funding or accreditation.
These conditions serve as an attempt to make sure educational initiatives and organizations are equitable, and taking these conditions away would allow those who discriminate based on identity a green light. For example, if an after-school program was previously denied government funding because they refused to use a nonbinary student’s pronouns, they would now be eligible for funding without changing their harmful practices.
- Limiting university programs.
The project wants “congress” to “wind down so-called ‘area studies’ programs at universities.” This isn’t explained in detail, but I am assuming they mean majors such as African-American Studies and Women and Gender Studies. I wonder if American Studies would still be allowed?
What can we do?
Those of us against Project 2025 need to keep talking about how much harm it will cause. This is not about a difference in opinion. This is about how Project 2025 will destroy public education.
Vote for candidates who support equity, value educational research and knowledge from professionals, and do not take advice from hate groups.
If you are a teacher, I recommend you read my colleague’s takes on how it will affect education: Cody Miller wrote about it in relation to teaching English, and Dr. Erica Buchanan-Rivera created these slides about the anti-DEI policies and their potential consequences for educators.
Public education is foundational to our democracy. I want all children, including my own, to have access to education that instills a love of learning, compassion for their local and global community members, and the ability to think critically. If our nation values our future, we will fight to ensure every child can access education. This includes children whose brains are wired differently, whose parents need financial support, and those who are exploring their identities to figure out who they are. We need teachers who are supported and treated as professionals.
What we do not need is a group of ultra-conservative policymakers, under the advisement of hate groups, creating policies that will destroy public education and the steps we have taken as a nation toward more equitable schooling experiences for all.
What are you concerned about with Project 2025? What issues are most important to you as a parent?
Pin this post and be sure to follow Vermont Moms on Pinterest!
Vermont Moms Insiders get exclusive content, so sign up today!
