Last Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate “commonsense school discipline policies.” School discipline policies should be “based on objective behavior,” the order reads, “not DEI.”

­The executive order addresses discriminatory policies and race-based disciplinary practices, originating in the Obama-Biden administrations, that prioritized racial outcomes over objective behavior. Critics argue these policies contributed to increased school disorder, including the 2018 Parkland High School shooting. On Thursday’s “Washington Watch,” former Congressman and guest host Jody Hice interviewed Ryan Petty, a father turned education advocate after losing his daughter in the Parkland tragedy, to explore the order’s implications and the ongoing push for safer, more equitable schools.

Petty, vice chair of the Florida State Board of Education, didn’t mince words about the Obama-era policies. “Failed federal education policy implemented by the Obama administration certainly contributed to the murder of my daughter and 16 others,” he said, pointing to a 2014 guidance from the Department of Education and Department of Justice. He argued that Obama-era policies only created “discriminatory discipline policies” that overlooked serious misbehavior.

For example, in Broward County, where Parkland is located, those policies led to the creation of the Promise Program, which Petty described as “nothing more than a community relations effort” to downplay discipline issues. “It was just an agreement between the school district and the sheriff at the time to stop arresting juveniles and to overlook or dismiss disciplinary behavior by certain students,” he said. This resulted, he added, in “chaos. It contributed to the Parkland tragedy.” He noted how a staggering 59% of Broward County teachers reported feeling unsafe in their classrooms, according to a union poll conducted after the shooting.

Petty said this was the “practical reality of these Obama policies.” However, Trump’s executive order, which directs the Department of Education and DOJ to rescind the Obama-era guidance, earned high praise from Petty. “I give him an A plus,” he said, though he cautioned, “There’s a lot of homework to do.” The order is a “great first start” to “unwind the damage” in school districts nationwide, he added, emphasizing the need for schools where “teachers can teach and students can learn.”

But the road ahead isn’t without obstacles. Hice raised concerns about a federal judge’s temporary halt this week on the White House’s efforts to end diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in K-12 schools. Petty dismissed the ruling as part of a broader resistance from “Democrats and progressives who have had the education establishment captured for decades.” He accused opponents of using “lawfare” to cling to control, urging Americans to rally behind Trump’s reforms. “[W]e need to get behind him. And these activist judges need to keep their politics at home,” he said. “The people of the United States, we’ve elected President Trump to do a job. Part of that job was fixing what’s wrong with public education.”

Hice agreed, posing the question, “How can state officials across the country partner with the White House and get behind [Trump] on this issue?” First, Petty urged, “Start removing these policies immediately. There are folks out there that can help you find them and eradicate them.” For Petty, equal treatment of students and consistent discipline are non-negotiable. “Discipline is a part of it,” he said, echoing Hice’s sentiment that “you really ultimately can’t have education without some degree of discipline.”

President Trump’s executive order on school discipline is just one of many in his broader crusade to dismantle DEI initiatives in K-12 education. The Department of Education’s April 2025 memo, for example, threatens to cut Title I funding — $2.1 billion for California alone — unless schools certify they’ve eliminated race-based DEI practices. The “End DEI” portal, launched in February 2025, escalates oversight by inviting public reports of alleged discrimination.

Likewise, Trump’s February 2025 order, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” requires schools to bar biological males from female sports teams to ensure fair competition, with non-compliant districts facing federal funding cuts. Several schools have resisted, prompting stern warnings from the administration. Supporters champion these moves as a return to merit-based education and prioritizing critical thinking and student safety.

In a comment to The Washington Stand, Meg Kilgannon, Family Research Council’s senior fellow for Education Studies, said, “Children deserve an ordered environment for learning. Some children come to school eager to learn; they should have order to do so. Some children come to school needing structure to contain their energy; they also should have order to do so. Nothing good comes from allowing chaos in the name of social justice.”

Kilgannon concluded, “As Christians, we must pray for all children, their parents and teachers.”