How Washington’s education department is gearing up for the new Trump administration

TACOMA – In his Wednesday inaugural address, Gov. Bob Ferguson vowed to work with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump when possible – and to push back when necessary.

It’s an approach also embraced by the leader of the state’s education department.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal referenced the new governor’s comments during a Thursday news conference.

“If it is truly about flexibility for states, we’re all in. If it’s truly about getting us the equitable resources that we pay in federal taxes, we’re all in,” said Reykdal, who previously served as a Democratic state lawmaker.

“If it is about stepping on the civil rights of children, however, we’re not in – and we’re going to fight it.”

Reykdal said undocumented students enjoy the constitutional right to education, and Washington will work to protect them. Schools are meant to be institutions for learning, he said, not conduits for immigration enforcement.

The state will also defend LGBTQ+ students, particularly transgender kids, Reykdal said: “We got your back.” Washington will continue providing equitable access and services to all students and will abide by rules and laws that protect trans youth, he said.

Yet in an emailed statement, Trump’s team rebuked the idea that the Republican will only serve some Americans.

“President Trump will serve ALL Americans, even those who did not vote for him in the election,” Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for Trump’s transition, told McClatchy. “He will unify the country through success.”

Trump has been on the minds of state lawmakers as the 2025 legislative session gets going. Former Gov. Jay Inslee referenced Trump during his final state of the state address on Tuesday; the day after, Ferguson did as well, albeit in a much less forceful tone.

The state’s new attorney general, Nick Brown, has said he views threats from the incoming presidential administration as “profoundly serious and as uniquely dangerous” to some interests and protections in Washington.

Reykdal is a staunch LGBTQ+-rights supporter, as reported by the Washington State Standard. He has sought more funding from the Legislature for the civil rights division of the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Education has gone from being rather benign to an increasingly divisive issue in recent years. Parents and partisans have locked horns over the suitability of certain public-school library books, for instance, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

Reykdal on Thursday mentioned the culture war and toxicity in the “D.C. environment.”

“We’re not bringing that to Washington,” he said. “Every student in the state is going to get access to all the services and opportunities that they deserve, and we will reiterate that through memos to our districts.”

OSPI, which Reykdal helms, is working with Brown’s office on possible litigation coming the state’s way, he said. One example: if the Trump administration withholds funding to ram through its version of Title IX – which bans sex discrimination in education and now includes protections for LGBTQ+ students – or other civil rights laws.

“Washington is a place that’s going to accept families from all over the country and all over the world,” Reykdal said. “And we’re going to educate kids, and we’re going to maintain that status as one of the best economies in the world, because it was built on the back of immigrants.”

The state’s school systems are facing serious fiscal challenges.

In September, Reykdal asked Inslee for a nearly $3 billion infusion for public schools in the 2025-27 budget. But Inslee’s proposed budget, which spells out plans for mending a multibillion-dollar budget gap, didn’t grant that wish.

Another big point of concern for parents in Washington and nationwide: whether Trump will shutter the federal Department of Education.

Reykdal said that’s a promise unlikely to fully manifest; closing the federal agency would take congressional action. But parts of the department could get carved out and tossed to other federal organizations, he said.

Reykdal also spoke out against pushes to privatize education and “destroy our public schools.”

“We cannot give our tax money to corporations, nonprofits and churches to deliver a constitutional right like basic education,” he said. “It is not in the scope of our Constitution. It’s not morally right, it’s not ethical and it doesn’t create the best education system.”

Evidence suggests that privatizing education works to segregate schools by income, race and religion, he said. The way Reykdal sees it, that flies in the face of the American dream. Washington’s kids should continue to learn with one another, solving math problems and learning to read sitting side by side, he said.

“That’s our promise,” Reykdal said, “and we will keep that in Washington state, no matter what the federal government attempts to do.”