Trump proposes big changes to public education, saying it's been overtaken by 'Radical Left maniacs'

Continuing to craft a second generation of his policies, former President Donald Trump is proposing a dramatic change in the education sphere that would empower parents to elect and fire school principals.

"Our public schools have been taken over by the Radical Left maniacs," Trump said in a video announcement released late Thursday night.

Trump said the first step in his plan to "save American education" and restore power to parents would be to cut federal funding for any school or program pushing Critical Race Theory, gender ideology or other "inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content to children.

Trump, who has already formally launched his 2024 presidential reelection campaign, said he will, if elected, direct the departments of Justice and Education to open Civil Rights investigations into any school district that has engaged in race-based discrimination, including discrimination against Asian-Americans.

"The Marxism being preached in our schools is also totally hostile to Judeo-Christian teachings, and in many ways, it is resembling an established new religion," Trump said in the roughly four-minute video. "For this reason, my administration will aggressively pursue potential violations of the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution.  That’s very simple.

Trump also made a so-called "Day One" promise to remove "the radicals, zealots, and Marxists" who have infiltrated the Education Department.

He also outlined funding preferences and "favorable treatment" for all states and school districts that make the following education reforms:

• Abolish teacher tenure for grades K through 12 and adopt merit pay for high-performing ones.
• Cut the number of school administrators, including the "costly, divisive and unnecessary Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion bureaucracy."
• Adopt a Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency and a form of universal school choice.
• Implement the direct election of school principals by the parents.