Parents have opted out of vaccines, the education sector is targeting diversity programs, and new school lunch regulations have just come into effect.
School 2025: Sugar restrictions, vaccine opt-out, DEI changes
The new USDA Sugar Rules, vaccine opt-out, and DEI policy changes returned to school in 2025.
For many school districts, it wasn’t a very quiet summer.
Uncertainty about the future of federal grants has made it difficult for supervisors and school boards to prepare budgets. Students and teachers were deported or faced threats of removal from the country. And the ghost of the government’s investigations came to an abundance as the Trump administration cracked down on schools with policies and diversity programs, including LGBTQ.
Yvonne Johnson, president of the National Association of Parent Teachers, said all of these changes are concerned with many parents about what this year could bring.
Have those concerns. It is important to remember that public K-12 schools where most children in America are educated are primarily run at the local and state level. Property taxes and councils provide most of the money they rely on (though the funding formula can vary widely from school to school).
On average, districts only get about 1/10 of their annual budget from the federal government. The federal government has no role in setting curricula in the classroom (despite some politicians want to hint).
Still, the federal government has many powers that affect the lives of students. Set nutrition guidelines, protect students with disabilities, and give school extra money along with the lowest-income students.
With millions of kids returning to classrooms this month, here are four important issues to keep an eye on.
New nutritional standards are in effect
More controversial policy changes have caught many headlines over the summer, but there are also the much-anticipated reforms, including the new school lunch standards already in effect in July.
In 2024, the USDA finalized regulations to limit the amount of sugar added to grains, yogurt and milk. By the fall of 2027, these restrictions will be more severe and include more reductions in sodium.
But by then, parents may have greater concerns, nutrition advocates warn. The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” provision will reduce funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP, which will come into effect that year and change the responsibility to fund many of the programs to the state.
These cuts ultimately reduce access to free school lunches, according to an analysis by the left-leaning think tank, the Urban Institute. (Participation in the Universal Meal program at many schools is associated with the number of students whose households are photographing beneficiaries.)
Republicans argue that snap cuts will ultimately force more parents into the workforce, preventing unnecessary government deployments and benefit grocery stores.
School Nutrition Association spokesman Diane Platt Hebner said she is worried that in the coming years a significant group of students in need of food will not be able to get it.
But the concerns are for “down the road, not the season to return to school.”
Parents opt out of forced vaccines
For religious or philosophical reasons, children are exempt from receiving the mandatory vaccinations before returning to school this year.
From 2024 to 2025, over 5% of kindergarten children in 17 states advocated for non-medical vaccine exemptions. As non-medical exemptions rise nationwide, vaccine rates among kindergarten children are steadily declining.
From 2019-20, only states reported that under 90% of kindergarten children were vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. Last year, that figure rose to 16 states.
In these states, health professionals say it makes it easier for lawmakers to vaccinate children who have promoted exemption rates. Dr. Philip Juan, director of the Dallas County Health and Human Services, said the decline in vaccination rates was also due to misinformation about vaccines on social media and mixed messages from federal health officials regarding vaccine recommendations.
Health experts worry that this trend may promote the outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases among children this fall.
“That’s been very concerning and I’ve had more and more discussions with my family,” said Dr. Sapnasin, Chief Medical Officer at Texas Children’s Pedia Trick.
Schools struggle with day duty
Since President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House in January, he has made it clear that his administration has a zero-tolerance attitude towards diversity, equity, inclusion, or Day. Although the acronym has become blurred due to politicization, it usually refers to school programs aimed at eliminating racial and socioeconomic disparities on school campuses.
In March, the US Department of Education gave the state and local districts the ultimate. Remove the DEI program. Federal officials either claim they violated the anti-discrimination law or risk losing their funds. At the time, the Trump administration said it only lasted two weeks for school leaders to follow.
Many state leaders have found that they are already following civil rights laws, and court documents show that they have been strongly counterattacking the administration’s claims about their qualifications as “illegal DEI practices.”
“There are no federal or state laws that prohibit the DEI principles,” wrote Dan Morton Bentley, the top official in the New York State Department of Education.
Despite the Trump administration’s demands, “no changes to existing school practices or programs are expected,” the Utah Board of Education said.
On August 14, a federal judge ruled that the Department of Education’s anti-DEI duties were illegal. He was blocked since April.
President’s Fitness Test: Is it coming?
On July 31, the president signed an executive order to revive the president’s fitness test.
For over half a century, the test, which previously included a mile of running, push-ups, abs and other types of physical tasks, was managed at school gyms across the country. Former President Barack Obama replaced it with a holistic youth health program in 2012.
It is not yet clear what the latest version of the test will look like, or specifically, to return to school.
According to Trump’s order, the test will be developed by the Department of Health and Human Services and the new Presidential Council, with support from the education sector deployed.
USA Today reporters will try it out themselves once they find out more. stay tuned.
Zachary Schermele is an education reporter for USA Today. You can contact him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @Zachschermele and follow Bluesky at @Zachschermele.bsky.social.
Adrianna Rodriguez is a health reporter for USA Today. You can contact her by email at adrodriguez@usatoday.com.
