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Federal Report
Election results and education priorities of the new Trump administration
January 6, 2025
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The following report was prepared by John Schilling, president of the ACSA Council of Elementary Educational Leaders and liaison for the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the California Federal Relations Coordinator for NAESP.
President-elect Donald Trump won six more electoral votes than Joe Biden did in 2020, which means he will return to the White House as the 47th president of the United States.
Republicans flipped four seats to win control of the Senate and will have a 53-47 majority. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., will be the Senate majority leader. It was announced that Bill Cassidy, R-La., will chair the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, will chair the Appropriations Committee. They are currently the ranking members on those respective committees. It is expected that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., will be the ranking member on HELP and that Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., will be the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee. They currently chair those committees.
Republicans were also able to maintain control of the House, though the margin will remain razor thin. Republicans have won 220 seats while the Democrats have won 215. House Republicans voted for Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., to continue as speaker and the formal vote will occur when the new Congress convenes Jan. 3.
In the states, there were also three high profile statewide education referendums on school choice, and each was defeated. Voters in Colorado rejected making school choice a state constitutional right. Kentucky voters rejected a constitutional change to fund private schools and in Nebraska voters repealed a $10 million school voucher program approved by the state Legislature.
Congressional issues
Congress is in a lame duck session. Temporary FY25 funding expires on Dec. 20 and there has been no decision yet on whether Congress will finalize funding before that deadline or extend it into the spring of next year to give the incoming Trump administration an opportunity to negotiate the final numbers.
The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA 2.0) are two of the last pending pieces of K-12 related legislation. There is bipartisan interest to enact COPPA 2.0 but less support for KOSA. It is possible the bill is included in a large omnibus package before the end of the lame duck session.
House Education and the Workforce Committee chairwoman Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., is term limited from continuing to lead the committee. Reps. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., and Burgess Owens, R-Utah, are running to replace her. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., is expected to remain as ranking member of the committee.
Trump administration education priorities The Trump campaign’s education priorities are outlined in the GOP platform that has been named “Agenda 47.” They include:
  • Abolishing the U.S. Department of Education.
  • Restoring parental rights and empowering parents.
  • Expanding universal school choice.
  • Ending merit pay and teacher tenure.
  • Emphasizing the “3 Rs” and withholding federal money from schools that teach CRT, gender or political indoctrination.
  • Growing career education and project-based learning.
  • Restoring the right to pray in school.
  • More patriotic civic education that emphasizes America’s founding principles.
  • Instituting stricter student discipline and hardening security of schools.
In addition, FY25 and FY26 K-12 funding will likely be affected and there are expectations that the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) could be strengthened in the first year of the Trump administration.