AIDEN BUZZETTI: We Need To Fix Public Schools, Not Abandon Them

For too long, conservatives have focused on alternatives to the failing public school system like charter schools, homeschooling, and school choice programs. While these efforts are valuable case by case, they ignore a larger reality: the majority of American children still attend public schools.

Retreating to charter schools or homeschooling may be an option for select families, but for the 87 percent of American children in public schools, surrendering the system to left-wing bureaucrats is not an option.

Conservatives must take the fight directly into the public school system by dismantling indoctrination and restoring academic excellence and core American values from within.

At the 1776 Project PAC, we have made strides in reclaiming local school boards, with hundreds of new board members elected in recent years. But winning elections isn’t enough. Without a clear policy vision to untangle decades of democratic failures, these victories risk being symbolic rather than substantive.

Progressives have spent far too long forcing their agenda into public education. They have woven ideology into the fabric of the system. Without a strong, coordinated effort, conservatives will continue to cede ground to bureaucrats who prioritize far-left values over academic excellence.

Under President Trump’s leadership, executive orders were issued to push back against radical left-wing ideology in education. These policies aimed to remove divisive critical race theory teachings, restore a fact-based curriculum, and emphasize the principles of classical education, a model rooted in history, literature, and civic virtue. But executive orders alone don’t guarantee implementation.

Conservatives must take responsibility for ensuring these directives are enforced. The Biden administration worked to dismantle Trump-era reforms, but local school boards and state governments still have power. Teachers and parents are positioned to provide accountability, ensuring that these reforms aren’t just symbolic but actively shape classroom instruction.

While local control of education is important, conservatives must recognize that progressives operate through national coordination. Teachers’ unions and left-wing organizations have spent ages embedding their agenda into public schools, often with federal support. To counter this, we need a National School Board Advisory Committee, a coalition of conservative education leaders who can provide policy recommendations, research, and legal support to school board members nationwide.

It’s time for conservatives to hold the local education departments accountable instead of throwing in the towel and resigning to educate at home.

This initiative wouldn’t override local decision-making but would equip school board members with the tools and strategies needed to push back against indoctrination and failing academic standards. Without this type of national coordination, conservative school board members risk being isolated and ineffective.

The fight for America’s education system is far from over. Electing conservative school board members was only the first step. Now, we need the policies, the infrastructure, and the national coordination to ensure real reform takes place. The 1776 Project is expanding, creating the 1776 Project Foundation–a blueprint to fix our schools, not by abandoning them, but by restoring them.

If conservatives fail to take this next step, we risk allowing the radical left to continue shaping the next generation. But if we stand firm, if we enforce Trump’s executive orders, build national policy coordination, and bring classical education to institutions like military schools, we can reclaim public education for good.

It’s time to stop retreating. It’s time to fix our public schools from within.

Aiden Buzzetti is the President of the 1776 Project Foundation. He was previously the Director of Coalitions for the 1776 Project PAC and can be found on X at @AidenBuzzetti.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.