President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week aimed at reforming school discipline practices nationwide. The directive calls for schools to base disciplinary decisions strictly on student behavior without factoring in race or diversity, equity, and inclusion considerations.
In recent years, restorative justice approaches have gained ground in schools across the country. Instead of suspending or expelling students who break rules, these programs emphasize dialogue and emotional healing, encouraging offenders to “talk it out” rather than face traditional consequences. While supporters say this builds community and promotes empathy, critics argue it has led to widespread disorder in classrooms.
“The greatest underreported story of the last five years is the abysmal state of behavior in American schools,” said Daniel Buck, an assistant principal at a Wisconsin charter school and senior visiting fellow at the Fordham Institute. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Buck described record-high rates of in-school fights, aggression, drug use, and disruption, conditions that, he says, leave teachers helpless and students unsafe.
“Trump overturned Biden-era guidance that functionally prohibited local teachers and administrators from enforcing consequences, which are essential for schools to function and for children to learn,” he said.
The consequences extend beyond disrupted classrooms. School violence harms both victims and perpetrators, eroding mental health and reinforcing a dangerous message: that students can act out without consequences. Many argue that this environment is directly linked to declining academic performance nationwide.
“How can any learning happen when students and teachers are constantly facing disruptions — and the fear of more?” Buck asked.
He shared that in some schools, administrators only step in if a student is bleeding or seriously injured. “They’re no longer managing classrooms. They’re trying to prevent property damage and bodily harm,” he said. In one school he observed, a third of the teachers quit in a single year due to student behavior.
In 2014, the Obama administration released guidance that encouraged schools to consider racial disparities when disciplining students. The result of this approach was that schools were pressured, under the threat of losing federal funding, to focus on equalizing discipline rates among racial groups, rather than basing decisions solely on student behavior. The result was that students were less safe because schools felt compelled to discipline students differently based on their race, leading to situations where individuals who engaged in dangerous behavior were not suspended or expelled and remained in the classroom.
The data backup concerns about rising violence. According to the Department of Education’s latest Civil Rights Data Collection survey, about one in five public schools reported at least one incident of physical attack or fight without a weapon during the 2021–22 school year, nearly 10% of schools reported threats of physical attack with a weapon, and 78% of public schools reported that student misbehavior had increased since the return to in-person learning after the pandemic.
The crisis is especially acute for Jewish students. Under the DEI framework promoted by the Obama-Biden policies, Jews are not treated as a protected minority, leaving them exposed amid rising antisemitism, particularly after the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel and the wave of hostility that followed.
Rabbi Derek Gormin, managing director of NCSY’s Jewish Student Union, expressed strong support for the new executive order.
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“I am grateful for President Trump’s reinstatement of Title VI legislation and enforcement, especially in light of the unprecedented spike in violence, bullying, and antisemitism targeting Jewish students,” he told the Washington Examiner. “This move represents a meaningful and necessary step toward protecting Jewish students and ensuring they are not left to face hatred and hostility alone. Safety of all students should be a bipartisan issue.”
At the heart of this policy shift is a simple but powerful message: schools cannot be places of learning if they are not first places of order.
Bethany Mandel (@bethanyshondark) is a homeschooling mother of six and a writer. She is the bestselling co-author of Stolen Youth.