Education — Why Conservative Education Policy Is Winning the Long Game While Progressives Play Defense

Education · 2026-03-07

OPENING The transformation of American higher education is accelerating, but not in the way many academic leaders anticipated. This week's developments reveal a coordinated conservative strategy taking hold across multiple states and federal levels, while traditional higher education institutions scramble to adapt.

The news from Oregon, Indiana, and the federal Education Department paints a clear picture of an industry under siege from multiple angles. Oregon's move to study restructuring its public universities isn't just about finances – it's part of a broader pattern of conservative-led states asserting more direct control over higher education. Indiana's requirement to accept the Classic Learning Test alongside SAT and ACT scores represents another victory for conservative education reformers who have long sought to reshape academic standards and admissions criteria.

Meanwhile, Education Secretary McMahon's continued push to dismantle her own department signals that the federal government's role in education may be fundamentally altered in the coming years. This isn't just about budget cuts or administrative changes – it's about a systematic effort to decentralize education policy and shift power back to states, many of which are controlled by conservative legislatures.

The timing is particularly strategic. As Fitch notes, state budget pressures are mounting, creating the perfect conditions for dramatic structural changes. When resources are scarce, radical reforms become more palatable. Traditional higher education leaders who dismiss these moves as temporary political headwinds are missing the bigger picture – this is a carefully orchestrated long-term strategy playing out across multiple jurisdictions.

Most concerning for defenders of traditional higher education is how these various initiatives reinforce each other. State budget constraints provide cover for restructuring efforts, while new admissions requirements like the Classic Learning Test slowly reshape the student pipeline. Federal disengagement removes a crucial counterbalance, leaving state-level conservative reformers with unprecedented leverage to remake public higher education in their image.

WHAT TO WATCH The next month will be crucial as state legislatures finalize budgets and more universities grapple with these new realities. Watch for other conservative states to follow Indiana's lead on alternative admissions criteria, and pay attention to how Oregon's restructuring study could become a template for other states. The real question isn't whether more changes are coming – it's whether traditional higher education leaders can develop an effective counter-strategy before these initiatives become the new normal.