This story is featured in the Jan. 2025 print edition.
Kendall Taylor will graduate this June at Cal Poly with an English degree. His dream is to work in education as a high school teacher.
However, Taylor believes the recent presidential election poses a risk to the privilege of education in America.
When the Associated Press called the results early Nov. 6, a wave of powerlessness engulfed Taylor.
“I turned off my phone, playing out a million worst-case scenarios out in my head,” he said.
Troubled about the uncertainty of the new administration, Taylor considered how policy changes would affect future educators.
“In liberal arts classes, policy decisions affect—and in most cases limit—whose stories are told,” he said.
In his Agenda47 platform, President Donald Trump created a 20-part list outlining specific political actions that could significantly change existing federal policies. One action is to cut federal funding for any school or program “pushing critical race theory, gender ideology, or other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”
Trump also indicated plans for dismantling the Department of Education (DOE), a federal institution that promotes “ensuring equal access for students of all ages.” His plan will return educational decisions to the states.
Reducing the department’s influence may result in public schools facing a financial deficit from their respective state government. The deconstruction of the DOE presents potential threats to financial aid for college students.
Financial aid at Cal Poly
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, provides students grants, loans and work-study. As an office in the DOE, the FAFSA is the largest provider of financial aid for students in the country.
To be eligible for FAFSA benefits, a student must indicate financial need, enrollment in college and other considerations, according to their website.
During the 2023-2024 fiscal year, Cal Poly received roughly $220 million in student financial aid. Of this total, 42%, or about $91 million, came from the federal government.
Meanwhile, the state provided 20% of the total financial aid for Cal Poly students.
Aside from federal and state aid, students also received money from the university in the form of grants, scholarships and athletic awards. Others received financial aid from outside and private sources, according to Gerrie Hatten, Cal Poly director of financial aid and scholarships.
Cameron Jones, vice president of the California Faculty Association Cal Poly San Luis Obispo chapter also teaches at Cal Poly, specializing in Latin American history.
He predicts without financial aid, students who cannot meet tuition costs could potentially drop out, resulting in reduced classes and inevitably, faculty layoffs.
Agenda47’s impact on critical race curriculum
When President Trump proposed the exclusion of topics like critical race theory and gender ideology at schools in his Agenda47, some Cal Poly faculty reflected on the possibility of a curriculum change on campus.
In an interview with Fox News, Trump responded to questions about schools in Los Angeles and San Diego maintaining history classes discussing “slavery” and “stolen land” to which he replied, “Then we don’t send them money.”
Jones sees these proposals from the Trump administration as a roadblock to social justice.
“It really is a misunderstanding of what is actually taught in universities and what is actually being talked about when we look at race and how to improve social justice,” Jones said.
Critical race theory refers to “an academic and legal framework that denotes that systemic racism is part of American society — from education and housing to employment and healthcare,” according to the Legal Defense Fund.
As a student, Taylor anticipates that if funding is cut for critical race theory and other studies alike, access to essential knowledge could be lost.
“If DEI and critical race theory are cut from curriculums, our schools will engage in the practice of dispossessing disenfranchised communities from our history,” he said.
Jerusha Greenwood, Cal Poly’s Academic Senate chair, said any changes within a department’s curriculum is proposed to the Academic Senate, the voice of the faculty body at the university.
According to Greenwood, these proposals have only come as far as the state government in recent years.
“That’s really where that impact has happened,” she added. “It’s been driven, not by federal demands, but by state demands.”
A full Senate vote is required for any resolution to be passed, curriculum-based or not.
Randall Jordan, San Luis Obispo County Chairman of the Republican Party, believes the change will be an invaluable resource for states to rebuild their systems to their own liking. Jordan’s biggest goal for San Luis Obispo’s school board is to return parental rights in K-12 schools.
“I don’t think that they need to be taught conservatism,” Jordan said. “I also don’t think that they need to be taught liberalism. I don’t think that politics should be involved at all in education.”
Jordan worked on a school board for eight years and said his goal was to always promote learning in children, not try to change the values of children.
Jordan said he wants to return to the “three R’s,” which he explained were “reading, writing and arithmetic.” He expressed concern about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s propositions to implement “the opposite.”
On the other hand, Liberal Studies Professor Amanda Frye argues that education and policy are far more intertwined than anticipated.
“It’s the individual choices and the awareness of educators and policymakers in relationship with our wider public discourse on what schools should be doing in American society that really creates the environments we have now,” she said.
She added that laws such as the Safety Act and FAIR Act ensure fair and inclusive educational experiences in the state.
However, Jared Van Ramshorst, a Cal Poly political science professor, speculated that the Trump administration could limit the capabilities of California universities to push for diversity and inclusion within their campuses.
“[The Trump administration] could pass some type of provision through the Department of Education guidelines that really curtails DEI initiatives for example,” Van Ramshorst said.
He relates this idea with Florida and Texas, who have both passed rules at the state level that limit practices of DEI initiatives at schools.
Van Ramshorst added that it’s easier for the Trump presidency to influence a state like Texas, under the conservative leadership of Gov. Greg Abbott, than it would be in California.
“I’m happier to be living in California and in the Cal State system than I am in Texas under the Texas system of public education,” Van Ramshorst said.
Trump v. California
Despite other states like Texas, facing consequential policy changes, some remain hopeful about the future of California.
Frye said states like California often go beyond the federal government’s expectations in offering more protection to their citizens, emphasizing, “California has a long history of stepping up and stepping forward to think about the needs of particularly marginalized populations in schools.”
According to Frye, California has a commitment to providing, “more than the minimum that federal law might expect.”
“California has some of the strongest laws in the country to protect and support students’ rights in schools,” she added.
Leaders of California’s Public Higher Education released a statement following the election to campuses across the state, anticipating uncertainty and anxiety within its community.
“The University of California, the California State University, and the California Community Colleges remain steadfast and committed to our values of diversity and inclusivity,” the statement read.
Despite this response from California’s Public Higher Education leaders, Taylor said she still fears that the lack of a federal DOE may result in the removal of what he deems significant topics such as critical race theory.
Taylor believes the California public education system will face unique challenges with varying responses throughout the state.
However, Jordan of the San Luis Obispo Republican Party, believes these changes could be positive, and credits the shift of power to the states as what the Constitution had originally intended for the country.
“Every Republican president since [Carter] has threatened and promised to dismantle and abolish the Department of Education,” he said. He believes Trump will be the first to follow through and deconstruct it.
In an email to Mustang News, Amy Bentley-Smith, Cal State University director for strategic communications and public affairs, further addressed its commitment to student success.
“Our institution has a long and proud history of graduating students who reflect the rich tapestry of our country, and who go on to become drivers of our economies and civically engaged leaders in their communities,” Bentley-Smith wrote.
While the dismantling of the DOE may return power fully to the states, California’s outlook could be significantly different than that of right-leaning states.
Following the election results, Gov. Newsom began the process of “safeguarding” California from any imposing future legislation that could affect the rights of the democratic state from Trump.
Newsom tweeted calling lawmakers into an emergency special session to “help bolster our legal resources and protect [California] against any unlawful actions by the incoming Trump Administration.”
In the aftermath of the election, many left-leaning states addressed precautions for the administration as a whole; however, with California’s 39 million residents, the state will take a harder hit than most others.
While primary concerns in California regard mass deportation and transgender policies, California schools will equally set up defense to protect its students.
The future of education
While the future of California’s education is still unknown, Frye said the election results were just a continuation of America’s complex relationship with race, power and identity.
“I was going to wake up a Black woman in America, regardless of who was the winner of the election,” she said.
Frye adds that the election represents the values, fears and needs of the current society and whether or not they are expressed by the next administration.
The dismantlement of the DOE could have many severe impacts on student federal aid, along with a complete restructure of the institution’s values and goals.
English senior Taylor believes students can reinforce the importance of liberal arts by taking elective classes in the arts, humanities and social sciences.
“Liberal arts classes allow people to get a better sense of the systemic inequalities that plague those fields so that they can handle their future work with care and cultural sensitivity,” he said.
Taylor believes liberal arts are fundamental to every profession, and liberal arts classes allow people to get a better sense of the “systemic inequalities that plague those fields so that they can handle their future work with care and cultural sensitivity.”
Academic Senate Chair Greenwood took pride in living and working in California, though she believes people of the state should not be complacent.
“I don’t think we should ever feel comfortable in environments like this,” Greenwood said.
As Californians, she thinks residents should not rest on their “laurels” and advocate for political change instead of remaining idle.
“I think we have to take a mindset that we are cautious about any kind of activity that might impact education,” Greenwood said, adding, “I’m grateful we live here, but I do know that that doesn’t mean we should become complacent.”
Correction: This article has been updated at 11:17 p.m. to add an embed clarifying California’s existing responses to Trump’s Agenda47.
