Since January 20, 2025, President Trump has issued several executive orders aimed at eliminating rights and services for transgender youth. One such order is titled: “Defending Women From Gender Ideology And Restoring Biological Truth To The American Government.” The order emphasized that women are biologically female and men are biologically male, ruling out any identity that sits in between or beyond this construct. By enforcing this policy, the Executive Branch suggests it will be defending women’s rights by prohibiting “men who self-identify as women” from gaining “access to intimate single-sex spaces and activities designed for women, from women’s domestic abuse shelters to women’s workplace showers.” The order directly questions prior interpretations of the holding in Bostock v. Clayton County (2020), which addressed Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by requiring gender identity-based access to single-sex spaces under Title IX of the Educational Amendments Act.
You can read the entirety of the order here: Defending Women From Gender Ideology Extremism And Restoring Biological Truth To The Federal Government – The White House
Another such order aimed squarely at eliminating critical support services for transgender youth in schools is coercively titled: “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling.” This directive aims to eliminate federal funding for K-12 schools that incorporate teachings related to gender ideology and critical race theory (CRT). The administration contends that such content introduces “radical, anti-American ideologies” into classrooms, potentially undermining family unity and national cohesion. The order mandates federal agencies to identify and terminate contracts and grants that support the instruction or promotion of gender ideology or discriminatory equity ideology in elementary and secondary education. Additionally, it directs the Attorney General to collaborate with state and local authorities to pursue legal action against educators and school officials who are deemed to unlawfully facilitate a minor’s adoption of a gender identity differing from their biological sex.
To further these objectives, the executive order instructs the Secretaries of Defense, Education, Health and Human Services, along with the Attorney General, to develop an “Ending Indoctrination Strategy” within 90 days. This strategy is intended to outline measures to prevent the dissemination of the specified ideologies in schools. Moreover, the order reinstates the 1776 Commission, originally established during Trump’s first term, to promote patriotic education and provide guidance on civics lessons, particularly in anticipation of the nation’s 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Critics of the executive order argue that it imposes undue restrictions on educational content and may infringe upon students’ rights to receive comprehensive education on issues of race and gender. Organizations such as the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association have expressed opposition, asserting that the order could create a chilling effect on educators and limit discussions that are vital to understanding the nation’s history and social dynamics.
You can read the entirety of this order here: Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling – The White House
While it is important to remember that an executive order is not a law, it is undeniable that most if not all transgender youth will feel the impact of President Trump’s new policies. This extends from the classroom to the soccer field and swimming pool. From a February 2, 2025 Order titled: “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” (2/5/2025), “it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.” Despite this widespread declaration, the number of transgender athletes trying to compete at either the elementary through high school or collegiate level is miniscule. According to researcher and medical physicist Joanna Harper, even though the exact number of transgender athletes in the NCAA identifying as women is unknown, in 2023 it was estimated to be less than 100. For middle and high school age children, that number is estimated to be only 5.
According to the a publication by the ACLU in September of 2024 titled “The Impacts of Anti-Transgender Laws and Policies: Evidence from Empirical Research”, anti-transgender laws negatively impact the mental health and well-being of a person, reduce access to health care, impede learning and intellectual freedom, endanger the lives of those in the LGBTQ+ community and often come at an economic cost when people leave areas with exclusionary policies. Laws that exclude send the message that members of the transgender community are not welcome causing this portion of the population to suffer from lack of access to necessary tools of health and economic opportunity.
Despite these exclusionary policies being enacted on various levels, there is hope. Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association, stated that educators know students “need to be respected for who they are, no matter their race, place, background, sexual orientation, or gender identity. And our students need to learn the good and bad of our history to be prepared to succeed in our diverse and interdependent world.” At the local levels there is a movement to find other ways to fund inclusion and make sure all are welcome. The Human Rights Campaign is actively combating legislation against transgender and non-binary groups, as well as educating anyone who cares to read the facts on their website about gender-affirming care.
So what does this mean for transgender children and their parents and families? How will these changes in policies affect anyone who does not identify as either male or female in either the classroom or on the playing field? The answer is we truly don’t know yet. What we do know is that policies of exclusion are historically detrimental on many levels for the youth of this country.
If you need help navigating the impact of these new policies for your child, reach out to Lindsay Brown at Brown Education Law Group LLC for a free consultation to see if we can help.
