Will Trump’s position on DEI further affect Georgia? State has already opposed it before

With President-elect Donald Trump set to return to the White House in just a few days, changes are anticipated that would heavily affect diversity, equity and inclusion initiative in Georgia school districts.

The introduction of anti-DEI efforts is not new to Georgia education systems. Workers and advocacy groups in K-12 public education are concerned that Trump’s second term may intensify existing DEI pushback in the state and reshape school policies.

In his “Plan to Save American Education,” Trump has vowed to crack down on DEI initiatives by threatening to “cut federal funding for any school programs that push critical race theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content.”

Over 1.7 million students are enrolled in the Georgia Department of Education, according to the agency’s latest data. Only 34% of the students are white.

But because DEI is a framework rather than a single policy, rollbacks would negatively impact marginalized students beyond racial factors, said Mikayla Arciaga, the Intercultural Development Research Association’s Georgia advocacy director.

“Diversity is an umbrella term for capturing all of the differences that students bring to our classrooms,” she said, highlighting students’ learning disabilities, sexual orientation and geographic upbringing as important factors to consider. “What isn’t really being captured is how much, especially in Georgia, we rely on quote on quote DEI initiatives to ensure that our rural students and communities have access to college and diverse programming.”

Georgia politicians have touted anti-DEI policy

About 8,500 Georgia youth from ages 13 to 17 identified as transgender in 2022, according to the Williams Institute’s latest data.

With Trump’s return to office, school districts should expect “continued attacks on LGBTQ+ students,” said Lisa Morgan, president of the Georgia Association of Educators.

“That has clearly been indicated by leadership at the Georgia General Assembly,” Morgan said.

A bill prohibiting transgender student-athletes’ involvement in women’s sports was introduced during the opening 2025 legislative session. The U.S. House also voted recently to pass a Republican-led bill that would ban their participation in girls’ sports at federally funded schools.

LGBTQ+ rights advocates such as Georgia Equality Executive Director Jeff Graham worry that Trump’s administration will fortify hostile environments for transgender students.

Graham said dozens of “discriminatory” bills were presented in Georgia during the last three legislative sessions, all ranging from denying gender-affirming care for transgender people to prohibiting them from using school restrooms.

“Young people who identify as transgender, and their parents, are extremely frightened about the current political landscape that we’re in,” he said, noting that Trump poured millions of dollars into anti-trans ads last year. “The fear that these families have, I think, is very justified.”

More DEI purge may affect GA classrooms

During his first term, Trump was critical about training and curriculum related to critical race theory and “divisive concepts.” Education groups say his second presidency could influence more aggressive actions.

Georgia public schools have previously followed suit and pushed for measures to restrict the scope of DEI-related policies in schools.

In 2023, the Georgia Professional Standards Commission purged the words “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” from state educator preparation standards.

Arciaga said that further “demonization” of DEI programs from the state agencies under Trump could affect student learning and engagement in K-12 classrooms by limiting critical thinking discussions and racially inclusive curriculum.

She referenced the state’s recent controversial discourse over offering high school students AP African American courses, which Georgia Department of Education Superintendent Richard Woods said violated the controversial “divisive concepts” law passed in 2022.

Arciaga warned that more bans could obstruct the teaching of race, gender, and equity issues in public schools. She also said that long-term DEI attacks, along with the removal of crucial training sessions, would render educators less capable of addressing the needs of diverse student populations.

“If legislators try to ban any one definition of DEI, it is going to create broad, sweeping regulations that will further eliminate what we know to be good practices for helping kids to learn,” Arciaga added.

Morgan called any focus on cultural or DEI policy adjustments a “solution in search of a problem,” emphasizing that the terms are already integral to classrooms.

“You can take the words ‘diversity,’ ‘equity,’ and ‘inclusion’ out of whatever you want to take them out of,” she said. “The reality of the classroom is that our students are diverse; our colleagues are diverse, and educators must be prepared to teach and work in an environment that is diverse.”

Trump also promoted patriotic values and curriculum in classrooms.

In 2021, the Georgia Board of Education opposed critical race theory in all classrooms, which was praised by Gov. Brian Kemp, who labeled the concept a “dangerous, anti-American ideology (that) has no place in Georgia classrooms,” according to a press release.

Morgan, who is a former DeKalb County kindergarten teacher, described critical race theory as a buzzword and said that in most cases, it is just American history.

“We are a diverse nation, and we have to teach the full truth about it,” Morgan said.

‘Impossible’ to predict what may happen in Georgia

What’s ahead at large for Georgia public schools under Trump’s leadership is still unclear, Morgan said.

“It’s impossible for those of us who understand public education to read the mind of someone who has no understanding of, or experience in, public education and what they might do,” she said about Trump’s nomination of former professional wrestling executive Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education.”

Morgan said she’s expecting to see a prolonged push by government officials to generally weaken public education and test the separation between church and state.

In the meantime, Morgan said it’s important for teachers and school leaders to continue to support their students and make sure they’re treated equitably.

“(Students) should be themselves. They should see themselves reflected in their textbooks, in the curriculum, in their classmates and also in the educators around them,” she added.