From Elite to Everyday: How the Trump DOE Is Taking on Higher Education
The Trump administration has broadened its scrutiny of universities beyond elite institutions, targeting lower-profile schools like Western Carolina University (WCU). In this case, the school is being investigated for alleged Title IX violations related to transgender student access to women’s facilities. The Department of Education’s investigation comes after growing media coverage and pressure from groups like Speech First, which obtained and publicized internal university communications. WCU maintains that it is complying with federal law, but faculty members have expressed concern that the probe is politically motivated. Critics argue that the administration is relying on partisan headlines, rather than thorough due process, and that this sets a dangerous precedent for academic institutions at large.
The Trump administration has said that its directives reflect a commitment to enforcing federal law as written, particularly regarding biological sex distinctions under Title IX. Trump himself has argued that universities have overstepped legal (and cultural) boundaries by implementing policies that, in his view, disregard long-standing definitions of sex and privacy. The administration’s focus on lesser-known institutions signals that no school is exempt from scrutiny—a stance that certainly resonates with conservatives who believe that higher education has become ideologically one-sided.
Since 2017, the Trump administration has taken a hardline approach to campus issues, from free speech to antisemitism and Title IX enforcement. The Department of Education under Betsy DeVos, during Trump’s first administration, rolled back Obama-era guidance on transgender student protections, emphasizing local control and biological definitions of sex. Now, with renewed vigor, the administration is using investigations as a tool to push back against perceived progressive overreach in academia.
Educators at all levels should be attentive to these developments, for federal scrutiny of universities often trickles down to K-12 education, where debates over transgender policies and freedom of speech are equally contentious. If faculty governance is undermined in higher education, similar pressures could eventually affect secondary and elementary educators. The reliance on media narratives—rather than formal complaints—to launch investigations also raises concerns about fairness and due process in schools.
As the Department of Education increasingly intervenes in campus controversies, we must ask: Should federal agencies act as arbiters of ideological disputes in education, or should these matters be resolved at the local level? What role should the Department of Education truly play in shaping the future of America’s schools?