On the campaign trail, President Donald Trump vowed to disrupt public education in the United States. He pledged to eliminate the federal Department of Education, establish universal school choice and cut funding to schools “pushing critical race theory and transgender insanity,” as he said at a campaign event in Minnesota last July.
During his first term, Trump proposed deep cuts to Head Start and other early childhood education programs, which failed to pass Congress. He also signed an executive order allowing states to use federal money to provide vouchers, and he withdrew Obama-era guidance that had expanded discrimination protections to transgender students.
Capital & Main spoke with Becky Pringle, a longtime educator and president of the National Education Association, about the education policies the second Trump administration may pursue and how they are likely to affect public schools — as well as the educators teaching them. The largest labor union in the country, the National Education Association represents 3 million public school teachers and staff. (Disclosure: The NEA is a financial supporter of Capital & Main.)
This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
Capital & Main: What was your initial reaction when the election was called for Trump?
Becky Pringle: The election of Donald Trump was not only disappointing, but my immediate thoughts went to our students.
I taught middle school science for 31 years. As an educator, I saw firsthand that my students who came from marginalized communities had greater needs. They didn’t have regular access to high quality health care. They too often came to school hungry. They didn’t always have dental care or access to the glasses they needed.
My leadership within my union was sparked by my activism during the Civil Rights Movement and the work I did to fight for the rights of people of color, Black people in particular, to [access] high quality education with equitable funding and to have the opportunity to pursue their wildest dreams.
The results of this election mean that as a union, we are going to have to fight for our members’ rights and to speak up for students, schools and the profession. Our students are going to need us defending them and protecting them.
Trump has repeatedly promised to eliminate the Department of Education. What do you make of that promise?
He can’t just do that — he can’t do that on his own. We have supporters of public education across the political spectrum who understand the important role that the federal government has to play in equity, access and opportunity for all students — particularly the outsized role that the federal government plays in the education of students with disabilities, who live in poverty or are otherwise marginalized.
The focus of Donald Trump and whoever becomes the secretary of education, whether it’s [World Wrestling Entertainment executive] Linda McMahon or someone else, will be to destroy public education. We know the goal is to take money out of public schools regardless of if they do it through their attempt to dismantle the Department of Education or not. He will cut funding to valuable programs that are designed to prepare students [for adulthood].
We know that Trump supports expanding and creating new voucher programs. Could you talk about how voucher programs affect public schools?
Voucher programs take money out of public schools. If you are taking money out of public schools, we know what happens: We have increased class sizes, and the schools don’t have the funds they need to pay [and retain] teachers and support staff. We have a five-alarm crisis in terms of our educator shortage in this country. Schools don’t have the requisite resources to lower those class sizes, pay teachers what they deserve and have access to tools and technology to address individualized needs of all of our students.
And 95% of students with special needs are educated in our public schools. Private schools can make a choice to discriminate in terms of the student population that they accept. They can decide that a student is too expensive or difficult to educate. That is why we have an outsized number of students with special needs being educated in public schools.
Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump term, proposes significant changes to federal education policies, including the elimination of Title I, the largest federal funding program for K-12 schools. What are your thoughts on how these proposed changes might impact students’ academic achievement and well-being?
Project 2025 is not just a blueprint of what is to come in education. It’s codifying what already happened when he was president the first time. We are very [cognizant] of the impact of any attempt to attack the social programs that have a direct result on our students’ ability to learn. We know that their mental health impacts their learning and that the financial health of their family impacts their academic achievement.
In education, we’re not just [concerned about] Title I funding, [which is distributed based on a school’s share of low-income students.] Donald Trump has talked about dismantling Head Start. We have evidence that the sooner we start teaching our students, the more successful they will be. Head Start is specifically focused on students in the lower socioeconomic level and on making sure they have access to high quality preschool so that they’re ready and able not only to be successful in school, but in their careers.
How might the second Trump administration differ from the first?
I don’t expect it to differ much. It certainly will make a difference that Republicans control the House and Senate, and that there is a right-wing majority Supreme Court. But the game plan is the same.
How is the union preparing for the incoming administration?
We are not only making sure that our members are educated, trained and ready to protect their students, but also their own rights. They’re also looking to find opportunities at the local and state level to advance the agenda [of public education].
For example, they’re working hard to spread community schools across this country because we know the importance of building community around students so all of them can learn, grow and thrive. [In addition to offering instruction, community schools provide health services, social support and community engagement, typically through partnerships with local agencies and businesses.] We know we can’t do it alone. The union core value of solidarity means that we will use our relationships, influence and allies to come together to fight for our students, our public schools and, honestly, our democracy.
I am so proud of our educators. I’ve never been prouder to call myself a teacher than I am in this moment. They stand in those gaps every single day to make sure they’re meeting the needs of all students.
