In an increasingly polarized political climate, Project 2025 has sparked rare unity among Americans: many agree that the plan would have dire consequences for the nation. Developed by the Heritage Foundation as a 900-plus-page blueprint for a potential second Trump presidency, Project 2025 lays out a vision that would dramatically expand presidential power, weaken checks and balances, and push forward a far-right agenda.
Although Donald Trump has distanced himself from the plan, many of his former officials and allies contributed to its development. Polls consistently show that public support for Project 2025 is low. A recent Navigator poll found that 53% of Americans, including 37% of non-MAGA Republicans, oppose the plan, with only 12% expressing support.
One of the key concerns is Project 2025’s proposal to fire thousands of civil service employees and replace them with Trump loyalists. Additionally, the plan seeks to dismantle programs that provide healthcare for pre-existing conditions, as well as cut Medicare and Social Security. But the agenda also threatens public education.
Dismantling the Department of Education
Project 2025 calls for dismantling the U.S. Department of Education entirely, an idea that Trump and other GOP candidates have advocated for repeatedly. Former Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos echoed this sentiment at a Moms for Liberty summit in July, advocating for abolishing the very department she once led. Under Project 2025, the federal government’s role in education would be reduced to merely collecting statistics, with even that role compromised by plans to limit demographic data collection that documents inequities in education.
Without federal oversight, a Trump-led administration would have the freedom to accelerate anti-public education policies already gaining traction in various states. This would jeopardize key protections and funding for vulnerable students.
Impact on Vulnerable Students and Teachers
Since 1965, Title I has provided essential financial support to schools in high-poverty areas. Project 2025 aims to eliminate Title I funding and replace it with unrestricted block grants to states, with no federal oversight. This shift would put significant pressure on already strained education budgets, severely impacting 2.8 million of the nation’s most disadvantaged students.
A study by the Center for American Progress found that cutting Title I funding would exacerbate teacher shortages, potentially eliminating up to 6% of the teaching workforce, particularly in low-income communities. Will Ragland, vice president of research at CAP, emphasized the negative consequences, stating, “Removing Title I funding would mean losing thousands of teachers and ultimately limiting children’s access to quality instruction.” Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota, added that such cuts would leave students without essential support and cost many educators their jobs.
Project 2025 also proposes ending the Head Start program, which served 833,000 children in 2022, and eliminating universal free school meals, a program that provides food security to millions of students.
“Parents’ Rights” and Increased Censorship
Project 2025 promotes a version of a “parents’ bill of rights” that would enforce censorship in schools and limit educators’ autonomy over curriculum decisions. While a similar bill failed in Congress in 2023, Project 2025 aims to resurrect it on a national scale, pushing for greater book bans and censorship in schools. According to PEN America, if implemented, Project 2025 would increase censorship across schools and colleges, silencing educators and limiting academic freedom.
Codifying Discrimination Against LGBTQ+ Students
The plan also aims to institutionalize discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly students. As states continue to pass anti-LGBTQ+ laws, Project 2025 would expand these efforts nationally. It seeks to deny the existence of transgender people, undermine the rights of same-sex couples, and rescind civil rights protections for LGBTQ+ individuals in public schools.
In summary, Project 2025 poses a severe threat to public education by stripping federal oversight, cutting essential funding, promoting censorship, and codifying discrimination. If enacted, these measures would devastate vulnerable students and communities across the country, leaving a lasting negative impact on the U.S. education system.
