Republican Presidential Candidates on Matters of Education

December 14, 2023

On the Issues

Where the Republican Candidates Stand on Education

The Republican presidential candidates are largely united in support of two education policies: shutting down the Department of Education and establishing a federal program to offer parents public money for private-school tuition or home-schooling. Some are also seeking to restrict what students are taught about race and gender.

He wants to close the Department of Education and impose ideological requirements for schools to get funding.

Former President Donald J. Trump wants to eliminate the Department of Education, a proposal he also made during his 2016 campaign, but did not try to get through Congress after taking office. He sought multiple times to cut the department’s budget, but each time lawmakers appropriated more money than he had requested.

He wants to close the Department of Education and has enacted ideological restrictions for Florida curriculums.

Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida supports expanding programs that provide publicly funded vouchers for parents to enroll their children in private schools or home-school them.

She wants to shrink the Education Department and offer public vouchers for private schooling.

Nikki Haley has described her decision not to call for eliminating the department, as several other candidates have, as a practical matter: While Congress would be unlikely to vote to do that, she said in September, she could “get rid of all the guts.”

He wants to close the Department of Education unilaterally and create incentives to remove children from public schools.

Vivek Ramaswamy claims he could close the Department of Education without congressional approval, an unprecedented assertion of presidential power.

He supports publicly funded vouchers for private schooling and opposes teachers’ unions.

Like his Republican opponents, former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey supports providing public money for parents to enroll their children in private schools or home-school them, and has endorsed eliminating the Department of Education.