Schools and libraries: book bans, 'patriotic education,' religion in classrooms, and dismantling the Education Department Case The mass school-library book removals (led by Florida under DeSantis) came mostly after Trump's first term, starting in 2021-22. Trump's first term produced the 1776 Commission and its 'patriotic education' push. In the second term the federal government moved from standing aside to taking part: it called book bans a 'hoax,' ordered an end to 'indoctrination' in schools under threat of funding cuts, removed hundreds of books from military-base schools, and is dismantling the Education Department. At the same time, states are putting the Ten Commandments and Bible-based material into public classrooms. Documentation - book removals PEN America counted 6,870 school book bans in 2024-25, with Florida (2,304), Texas (1,781) and Tennessee (1,622) accounting for about 80%, and nearly 23,000 since 2021 across 45 states. Utah and South Carolina created statewide 'no read' lists. Jan 24, 2025: the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights dismissed 11 book-ban complaints, called book bans 'a hoax,' eliminated the 'book ban coordinator' position, and ended its civil-rights agreement with Forsyth County (GA) schools. After Trump's executive orders on 'gender ideology' and 'divisive equity ideology,' Pentagon-run schools for military families (DoDEA) removed about 596 titles on slavery, Native American and women's history, LGBTQ topics and sexual-harassment prevention, plus parts of AP Psychology. On Oct 20, 2025 a federal judge ordered the books returned at the five schools in the suit. Documentation - curriculum Executive Order 14190, 'Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling' (Jan 29, 2025), threatens federal funding for schools that teach the US is 'fundamentally racist, sexist or otherwise discriminatory,' targets 'gender ideology' and 'discriminatory equity ideology,' and re-establishes Trump's first-term 1776 Commission for 'patriotic education.' Documentation - religion in public classrooms (state level) Texas and Louisiana require the Ten Commandments in every public classroom. The full 5th Circuit upheld Louisiana's law 12-6 in February 2026 and Texas's on April 21, 2026, setting up likely Supreme Court review. Oklahoma has pursued Bible-related mandates. Documentation - dismantling the Education Department Staff fell from about 4,200 (2024) to 2,300 (2026). More than 100 programs have moved to other agencies: K-12 programs to Labor, family engagement to HHS, and student loans to Treasury. The budget proposes a 35% cut to the Office for Civil Rights. McMahon: the mandate is 'to sunset a 46-year-old, $3 trillion failed federal education bureaucracy.' Note Supporters call most removals age-appropriateness reviews and dispute PEN America's count, and the 5th Circuit upheld the Ten Commandments laws. Sources [1] PEN America (https://pen.org/book-bans/pen-america-index-of-school-book-bans-2024-2025/) [2] Federal Register (https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/03/2025-02232/ending-radical-indoctrination-in-k-12-schooling) [3] ACLU (https://www.aclu.org/press-releases/dodea-must-return-books-to-shelves-judge-rules) [4] Houston Public Media (https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/education/2026/04/21/549758/texas-ten-commandments-5th-circuit-court-2/) [5] Military Times (https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-military/2025/10/22/judge-orders-immediate-return-of-books-removed-from-5-dod-schools/) [6] PBS NewsHour (https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/appeals-court-rules-texas-can-require-public-schools-to-display-ten-commandments-in-class) [7] School Library Journal (https://www.slj.com/story/Department-Education-Office-Civil-Rights-Dismisses-Book-Ban-Complaints-ends-agreement-forsyth-county) [8] Fox 4 / PEN America (https://www.fox4news.com/news/pen-america-banned-book-report-2025) [9] Georgetown Free Speech Project (https://freespeechproject.georgetown.edu/tracker-entries/trump-executive-order-targets-education-seeks-to-boost-patriotism-and-end-indoctrination/) [10] OPB/NPR (https://www.opb.org/article/2026/05/14/linda-mcmahon-again-defends-dismantling-the-education-department/) Connections Related — 'Flood the zone': overwhelming courts, opposition, and the public Shared mechanism: removals reversed by courts only after the fact. Related — Anti-Christian bias task force and Religious Liberty Commission Shared theme: government promotion of religion in public institutions. Related — Anti-transgender executive orders and federal policy rollback Cause/effect: the gender-ideology orders triggered the military-school book removals. Related — CFPB under Vought: medical-debt protections rolled back, and who runs it now Same pattern: dismantling a federal agency from inside and moving its functions elsewhere. Related — Heritage Foundation, Project 2025, and its implementation Project 2025 called for eliminating the Education Department and 'parental rights' curriculum control. Related — Press freedom rollback — AP ban, Pentagon rules, CNN/MS NOW/Politico ban Shared mechanism: restricting access to information and viewpoints.