As Donald Trump returned to the presidency and became the 47th U.S. president, thing began to change for public education.

Trump and his administration have advocated dismantling the Department of Education. The department can change existing policies and alter rules school systems must follow, including directing programs receiving Department of Education funds to not advance diversity, equity and inclusion efforts or gender ideology.

Members of the Elk Grove Unified School District administration have addressed the proposed changes regarding Trump’s second term and how it’ll affect schools in the area.

District executive director Lisa Levasseur is keeping an open eye while dealing with EGUSD’s current curriculum.

Responding to the U.S. Department of Education changes, Levassaur said the board currently doesn’t “plan on making any changes to student programs” and is “unclear” about any possible budget cuts.

She is optimistic that whatever happens, EGUSD won’t be hugely impacted negatively.

“Hopefully it won’t affect education at all, especially since EGUSD is the fifth-largest district in California and the second-most diverse,” Levassuar said. “We have dedicated, terrific teachers and administrators who will continue to provide a quality education for all students in EGUSD.” 

She is positive the district will still thrive despite any federal changes.

“Elk Grove Unified will continue its goal of helping all students realize their greatest potential by ensuring that every student is learning, in every classroom, in every subject, every day to prepare them to be college-, career- and life-ready graduates,” Levassuar said.

Michael Vargas, a member of the EGUSD board of trustees who currently serves as board president,  is also tasked with closely monitoring the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed changes, comparing the first six months of the year to a “bit of a fire hose.”

“Right now, we are still in … the monitoring phase, because a lot of those executive orders and actions from the President and the executive branch are being challenged in court,” he said.

Vargas said one complicating factor for the district is attempting to comply with both  state and federal law.

“California has its own laws around everything from teacher hiring to DEI, all of the things that the federal government now has a different opinion on,” he said.  

So far, he is fearful of the potential defunding of organizations and nonprofits, specifically “Head Start,” a preschool program.

“We have preschools throughout the district – 30-something of our elementary schools have preschools, and around a third are funded by Head Start,” Vargas said. “If Head Start funding were to disappear entirely, we would have to figure out how to pay for those preschool programs without Head Start money, and that would require us to move money from other places, or just let those programs fall by the wayside.”

If he could change anything about the possible new U.S Department of Education changes, he would “prefer that they just didn’t cut anything” and “less regulation, more block grants.”

“We could, at the local level, have more freedom to decide what we want to do with those funds – put them toward things where we need the money, and also maybe put them towards some really innovative projects that would benefit Elk Grove as a whole,” Vargas said.

Adam Wood, Franklin High School’s principal, is also advocating for programs not to be cut.

“The vast majority of our funding comes from the state as compared to the feds, and we’re much more concerned about the governor’s budget update,” Wood said.

Wood is an advocate of after-school extracurriculars.

“What gets our students excited about being a school isn’t always math, science, English or history, it’s whatever programs they’re involved in – extracurriculars, athletics, all kinds of clubs,” he said. “That’s what makes them want to be a part of school, so any funding that could be there … for that, we want to keep as much as possible.”

Wood said he is deeply committed to public education – both as an educator and as a parent. 

“I wouldn’t want there to be any cuts to public education in the country, just because I’m very passionate about and obviously worked there my entire career, and I have four kids that are in school right now,” Wood said.

He said he also hopes that salaries for teachers can increase.

“I definitely would advocate for as much teacher pay as is fiscally responsible,” Wood said. “You know, if the money is there, I’d want it to go to our staff, whether that’s teachers or support staff or classified district personnel.”

The California Department of Education noted, in a July 1 letter, that some federal education funds for the 2025-2026 school year have been impounded.

Most recently, California filed a lawsuit in federal court “challenging the federal government’s unlawful withholding of approximately $6.8 billion dollars in congressionally appropriate funds, including nearly $1 billion withheld from California alone,” the letter stated.

On July 14, Secretary of Education LInda McMahon and the Trump Administration were officially sued by California, which hopes to seek “injunctive relief to require the administration to release all of these unlawfully impounded funds.”