The order of Trump orders the Federal Department of Education and the National Science Foundation to prioritize the granting of subsidies and the realization of research related to artificial intelligence.
What we now know about the reshaping of education by President Trump
Education, in particular higher education, was a major objective of President Trump's mandate. Here is what we now know about his changes in education.
Washington – President Donald Trump signed a decree of April 23 aimed at bringing Artificial intelligence in schools from kindergarten to 12th year In the hope of building an American workforce equipped to use and advance rapid growth technology.
The directive, first reported by USA Today before Trump's signing, asks American education and work services to create opportunities for high school students to take AI and certification courses, and work with states to promote AI education.
Trump also ordered the education department to promote the application of AI in discretionary grant programs for teacher training, the National Science Foundation to prioritize research on the use of AI in education and the Labor Department to extend AI learning.
“This is a big problem, because AI seems to be where it is,” said Trump before signing order in the oval office.
Order – One of the seven directives related to the education that Trump signed on April 23 – highlights a bipartite concern: how to best integrate AI into teaching. Democrats and Republicans have expressed fears that American students are late from other nations, especially China, as technology becomes more advanced and integrated into the labor market.
“We literally have billions of dollars invested in AI,” said Trump. “Someone today, a very intelligent person, said that AI was the way to the future. I don't know if it's right or not, but certainly very intelligent people are investing.”
In addition, Trump's order creates a White House working group on AI education, which includes the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and the work secretary Lori Chavez-Deremer, and will be chaired by Michael Kratsios, director of the White House and Technological Office.
The group will develop a “presidential AI challenge,” said the White House, which will highlight and encourage the use of AI in class. The working group will also be responsible for establishing public-private partnerships in order to provide resources to AI education in kindergarten schools to the 12th year.
Other executive orders signed by Trump Target, supposedly “awakened ideology” in universities accreditation; strengthen laws requiring the disclosure of foreign gifts by colleges and universities; And create a new initiative of the White House to support historically black, or HBCU colleges and universities.
A Bipartite Congress Report Emitted in December 2025, said: “Kindergarten educators in the 12th year need resources to promote the literacy of AI.” However, he also recognized that AI on the job market and schools should be deployed within the limits of labor and anti -discrimination laws.
Although conservatives and liberals agree on the need to adopt certain aspects of AI in schools, they clashed on the role of federal regulations in this process.
“AI will probably revolutionize the way students learn, but the federal government does not need to be involved,” concluded a Republican summary of an audience of the April Committee on AI in Education.
The Washington Post was the first to report April 22 on a draft decree circulating among the federal departments to integrate AI into the classrooms from kindergarten to the 12th year.
Trump's executive decree asks the labor secretary to financially encourage learning -related learning. Learning has been largely adopted in recent years by Democrats and Republicans, including McMahon, as an essential alternative to college.
The new initiative of the White House comes after an embarrassing viral moment for McmahonWho on April 8 confused AI with A.1., A popular steak sauce, during a conference in San Diego. (At the start, she used the acronym correctly, but stumbled while continued her public remarks.)
Shortly after its inauguration in January, Trump signed a cancellation order IA expansion regulations which had already been adopted by the former president Joe Biden. Trump also promoted A private investment of $ 500 billion Based on three technological companies that planned to build new AI data centers.
In March, President Trump Signed a separate order aimed at dismantling the education department. The agency still exists, however (but with just half of the workforce He had once). Only the congress can fully abolish federal agencies.
A Coalition of States continued the Trump administration More than a month ago, alleging that the mass layoffs of the Department of Education were illegal. A judicial hearing to consider a preliminary injunction on layoffs is set for April 25.
Joey Garrison is a White House correspondent for USA Today. Follow it on x at @joeygarrison.
Zachary Schermele is an education journalist for USA Today. You can reach it by e-mail to zschermele@usatody.com. Follow it on x at @zachschermele and bluesky at @ zachschermele.bsky.social.
