Our Publications

Part I: Strategies for Responding

This analysis provides frameworks to help education organizations consider how to respond to changes in federal policymaking.

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Key takeaways:

• The Trump Administration has issued dozens of executive orders impacting various facets of education. Many of these fall on the edges or outside federal authority over education.
• Organizations seeking to minimize legal risk may end up “overcomplying” with non-legal orders. A holistic risk assessment should also include a consideration of “mission risk”: the harm to an organization’s mission resulting from overcompliance.
• The Trump Administration is asserting an expansive vision of its authority over education policy while also paradoxically reducing the capacity of the federal agencies that would implement this vision. This tension will make it difficult for federal agencies to implement orders that require administrative action. Organizations may ultimately experience the impacts of federal retreat more than federal expansion.
• In response to the Administration’s anti-DEI efforts, many organizations are changing their words but not their actions–an approach we call “Quiet Continuity.” This approach has tradeoffs that should be considered relative to the alternatives.

Last update: 2/28/25

Click here to read Charting Change, our previous series on the implications of the 2024 state and federal elections on education policy.

If you would like to partner with Education First or learn more about navigating the new federal policy environment, please contact us.