President Donald Trump aims to restore “common sense” to school discipline practices with a Wednesday executive order that will end the consideration of race and “equity ideology” when determining how students will be punished.

“The Federal Government will no longer tolerate known risks to children’s safety and well-being in the classroom that result from the application of school discipline based on discriminatory and unlawful ‘equity ideology,'” said President Trump in his order.

The order outlines the history of race-based school discipline guidelines that incentivized school officials to give more lenient punishments to certain students based on their race.

Under former President Barack Obama, the Department of Education (DOE) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a 2014 letter warning schools that they could be found in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act if they disciplined students based on their actions without consideration of race.

Any school found to have suspended, expelled, or referred students of one race to law enforcement at a higher rate than any other race, even if students of that race were committing more disciplinary infractions, could face a federal lawsuit and loss of funding under that policy.

A 2018 report found that schools were ignoring and covering up serious misconduct from members of certain races to avoid any racial disparity in disciplinary action. This allowed students who would normally be expelled or suspended to remain in classrooms, endangering other students and faculty.

The Obama-era rules were rescinded during Trump’s first term, but President Joe Biden’s administration effectively reinstated them in 2023.

“As a consequence of these policies, teachers and students are suffering increased levels of classroom disorder and school violence,” said Trump’s order.

The order instructs the Secretary of Education to issue new guidance informing local schools that they are legally obligated not to discriminate by considering race in disciplinary actions, and that they are required to apply penalties for misconduct uniformly, without regard to a student’s race.

The Secretary of Education is instructed to take action against any schools found to be violating the new executive order and will issue a revised school discipline code meant to protect students of military families.

Trump commissioned a report to be delivered within 120 days of his order that will consider the consequences of race-based school discipline, review any federal grant recipients promoting race-based school discipline, and provide recommendations on preventing similar groups from receiving federal funds in the future. Additionally, the report will consider new options to protect students, promote common sense, and maintain traditional American values.

The new policy on school discipline came along with another order issued on the same day that ends disparate-impact liability, which forces employers to consider race and other protected traits when hiring or risk potential civil liability if members of certain groups typically have different outcomes in hiring processes.