The policy platforms of Kamala Harris and Donald Trump provide voters with stark choices regarding issues that affect children, women, and the LGBTQIA+ community. On one side, Harris and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) champion inclusivity, equality, and expanded rights for marginalized groups. Meanwhile, Trump and the Republican National Committee (RNC), supported by Project 2025, emphasize traditional family values, parental control, and limited federal oversight.

Here’s how these differences manifest in the candidates’ policies on education, women’s rights, and LGBTQIA+ protections.

Education Policy: A Fundamental Difference in Approach

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump represent opposing visions for education policy.

Harris advocates for an inclusive education system that increases funding for public schools, supports universal pre-kindergarten, and prioritizes equity for marginalized communities. Her support for universal pre-kindergarten is rooted in the belief that early childhood education lays the foundation for lifelong success, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. She recognizes that disparities in early education access can have long-term impacts on achievement gaps, and her focus on this area underscores her commitment to giving every child, regardless of background, a strong start.

Harris has also consistently pushed for teacher pay raises, recognizing that teachers are at the heart of student success. She aims to attract and retain quality educators by advocating for higher pay, particularly in underfunded public school systems. This policy is tied to her broader education platform, which includes increasing investments in public schools and ensuring that schools serving marginalized communities receive equitable funding. Harris has framed education as a fundamental right, arguing that a well-funded public education system is key to addressing systemic inequalities.

In addition, Harris has vehemently opposed efforts to undermine public education through voucher systems or school choice programs that divert funding from public schools to private institutions. She has emphasized the importance of strengthening public education rather than privatizing it, pointing to the need for all students—especially those from low-income and marginalized communities—to access quality education within the public system. This directly opposes conservative efforts to dismantle public education, a point she has made clear in her policy speeches.

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In contrast, Trump aims to dismantle the Department of Education, advocating for a school choice model where public funding follows students to private or charter schools. This approach disproportionately harms public schools, particularly in low-income and marginalized communities, by diverting essential funding to private institutions that often lack accountability or inclusivity requirements. This undermines the public education system and perpetuates inequality as public schools struggle to provide quality education with diminishing resources.

Trump’s position is further entrenched in Project 2025, which lays out an even more aggressive plan to reshape the education system by promoting parental control and conservative values in school curricula. This vision would prioritize teaching based on conservative principles, often at the expense of inclusive and factual representation of American history and diversity, which they call “Patriot Education.”

“Patriotic Education” emphasizes national pride while downplaying or outright omitting critical perspectives on issues like slavery, systemic racism, and the treatment of Indigenous peoples. The curriculum seeks to present a sanitized version of American history, where the nation’s flaws are either minimized or ignored, depriving students of the opportunity to engage with the complexities of the past critically.

This approach not only glosses over the struggles of marginalized communities but also promotes a narrow, exclusionary view of American identity. By pushing this “Patriotic Education,” the RNC and Project 2025 aim to cultivate a national identity centered on liberty, democracy, and free enterprise—yet they exclude the narratives of those these systems have historically oppressed.

LGBTQIA+ Rights: Inclusivity vs. Restriction

LGBTQIA+ rights represent another area of significant policy divergence.

Kamala Harris has long been a staunch advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights, consistently supporting measures that aim to achieve full equality for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

One of her central commitments has been to the passage of The Equality Act, which would extend comprehensive protections against discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, and public accommodations. Harris views this legislation as a crucial step toward eradicating discrimination against LGBTQIA+ people and has championed its passage throughout her career. Her support for the Equality Act reflects her broader commitment to creating an inclusive society that protects the rights of marginalized communities.

In addition to her support for anti-discrimination laws, Harris has been a vocal opponent of conversion therapy, a practice aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. She has consistently advocated for banning this harmful and discredited practice, both at the state and federal levels.

Furthermore, Harris has actively supported transgender rights, particularly in the military, where she has opposed the Trump administration’s ban on transgender service members. She believes that formally including transgender individuals in the armed forces strengthens military diversity and promotes equality, arguing that all qualified individuals, regardless of gender identity, should have the right to serve.

Harris’s advocacy extends to expanding access to gender-affirming healthcare, a crucial issue for transgender individuals. She has pushed for policies that ensure transgender people, particularly those relying on government healthcare programs, can access the care they need.

In the realm of education, Harris has also pledged to uphold Title IX protections for transgender students, ensuring they can access school facilities and participate in activities that correspond with their gender identity. This stance underscores her broader commitment to protecting the rights of transgender individuals in all facets of life, from healthcare to education and beyond.

Harris has consistently advocated for comprehensive protections, supporting the Equality Act and opposing discriminatory practices such as conversion therapy. She has also championed the rights of transgender individuals, supporting their inclusion in the military and expanding access to gender-affirming care. In schools, Harris has pledged to uphold Title IX protections for transgender students.

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Trump, on the other hand, has sought to roll back LGBTQIA+ protections. His administration rescinded federal guidelines established under the Obama administration, which allowed transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity in public schools. This move significantly impacted the rights of transgender youth, stripping away protections that had previously provided them with equal access to educational facilities.

Furthermore, Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services rolled back protections for LGBTQIA+ individuals in healthcare, including eliminating nondiscrimination protections under the Affordable Care Act, which allowed healthcare providers to refuse treatment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Trump also vehemently opposed the Equality Act, which sought to expand civil rights protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as employment, housing, and public accommodations. He argued that the Act infringed upon religious freedoms, siding with those who believed businesses should have the right to refuse service to LGBTQIA+ individuals based on their religious beliefs. This stance emboldened conservative groups that advocated for the legal right to discriminate against LGBTQIA+ people under the guise of religious liberty, further exacerbating the marginalization of the community.

Under Project 2025, the Republican platform aims to take these regressive policies even further. The project outlines a vision for America that emphasizes traditional family structures and actively opposes expanding LGBTQIA+ rights. Project 2025 seeks to reverse gains made by LGBTQIA+ advocates, including efforts to prevent discrimination in education and healthcare. It endorses policies that reinforce traditional gender roles and marriage definitions, pushing for legal and social frameworks that undermine LGBTQIA+ inclusion.

Women’s Rights and Reproductive Health

Kamala Harris views women’s rights, particularly reproductive rights, as fundamental to gender equality and autonomy.

Harris has consistently fought to protect and expand women’s access to reproductive healthcare, advocating for the codification of Roe v. Wade into federal law. Her stance on abortion is rooted in the belief that every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body, free from government interference. Harris frames reproductive healthcare as a crucial component of gender equality, linking it to broader issues of healthcare access and economic security for women. She has also supported initiatives to address maternal health disparities, particularly among women of color, who face higher mortality rates due to systemic inequities in healthcare.

Harris’s broader platform includes expanding healthcare access, supporting paid family leave, and fighting for equal pay for women, emphasizing that the future of women’s rights hinges on dismantling systemic barriers that continue to oppress women in all aspects of life.

Harris has consistently pushed for policies that promote gender equality in the workplace, recognizing that systemic barriers continue to prevent women from achieving full economic participation. A cornerstone of her platform is the fight for equal pay, where she has supported legislation like the Paycheck Fairness Act, aimed at closing the gender pay gap and holding employers accountable for discriminatory pay practices. Harris has framed this issue as essential to women’s financial security and independence, highlighting that women, particularly women of color, are often paid significantly less than their male counterparts for the same work.

Harris has championed policies that support paid family leave, which she sees as critical to ensuring that women can balance work and family responsibilities without jeopardizing their careers. She supports federal paid family and medical leave programs that allow women to take time off for childbirth or to care for a sick family member while maintaining job security.

Harris’s approach to workplace equality extends beyond wages. It focuses on creating environments where women are supported in all aspects of their professional lives, whether through better work-life balance policies or stronger protections against workplace harassment and discrimination.

Furthermore, Harris has consistently emphasized the importance of women’s leadership in business and government. She has been a vocal advocate for increasing the representation of women in leadership roles across all sectors, recognizing that women’s voices are crucial in shaping policies and corporate decisions that impact their lives. Harris’s platform includes policies designed to break down the structural barriers that keep women, especially women of color, from ascending to leadership positions. Her focus on empowering women economically is rooted in the belief that true equality cannot be achieved until women are fully represented in all areas of society.

This commitment to gender equality starkly contrasts Project 2025’s vision, which emphasizes traditional family roles that often limit women’s participation in the workforce. By promoting policies discouraging women from pursuing careers outside the home, Project 2025 would likely exacerbate existing disparities, undermining the progress toward gender equality in the workplace.

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In stark contrast, Trump’s stance on women’s rights, particularly regarding abortion, has been shaped by pressure from anti-abortion groups and conservative factions within the Republican Party. During his presidency, Trump appointed three conservative justices to the Supreme Court, resulting in the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which had protected the constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years. His administration also supported policies that allowed states to restrict access to abortion, even in cases of rape or incest.

While Trump has expressed inconsistent views on whether the issue of abortion should be left to the states, his administration played a crucial role in dismantling federal protections for women’s reproductive rights. This rollback has left millions of women across the country without access to safe, legal abortion services, disproportionately impacting low-income women and women of color who often have fewer resources to seek care in states with fewer restrictions.

Project 2025 takes Trump’s policies even further, laying out a roadmap for the future of women’s rights that is both regressive and harmful. The project promotes the expansion of state-level abortion restrictions, including policies that would criminalize abortion providers and severely limit the conditions under which women can access abortion services. In many states, these restrictions would go as far as banning abortion outright, with no exceptions for rape or incest, forcing women to carry pregnancies to term against their will.

Additionally, Project 2025 advocates for promoting adoption as an alternative to abortion, framing it as a morally superior choice while ignoring the physical, emotional, and economic toll forced pregnancies take on women. By advancing policies that restrict women’s reproductive choices, Project 2025 effectively seeks to strip women of their autonomy, reinforcing patriarchal control over women’s bodies. This vision of the future would leave women in a position where their rights are determined by state governments, many of which are pushing for extreme and punitive measures to control women’s reproductive health.

Beyond abortion, Project 2025 seeks to reinforce traditional gender roles, advocating for policies that undermine gender equality in the workforce and within families. The project promotes a vision where women’s primary role is centered around motherhood and family, and it downplays efforts to close the gender pay gap or provide paid family leave. By emphasizing “traditional family values,” Project 2025 not only seeks to erode reproductive rights but also places women in a socially regressive framework that limits their economic and personal freedoms. This contrasts sharply with Harris’s focus on expanding opportunities for women, ensuring access to healthcare, and fighting for gender equality across all areas of life.

A Clear Choice for Our Future if You Aren’t a Christian Nationalist

The policies of Harris and Trump reflect two vastly different visions for America’s future. Harris’s platform promotes inclusivity, equity, and expanded rights for women, children, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. On the other hand, Trump and Project 2025 aim to restore traditional values, reduce federal oversight, and restrict the rights of marginalized groups.

As we head to the polls in November, remember these issues that will define the country’s future direction and shape the lives of millions of Americans.

Issue	RNC Position	Project 2025 Position	DNC Position
Children	Support traditional family values. The RNC promotes policies that strengthen families, such as tax breaks for parents and support for stay-at-home parenting.	Encourage family cohesion and self-sufficiency. Project 2025 advocates for policies that promote family stability and reduce dependency on government assistance, focusing on traditional values.	Invest in children’s wellbeing. The DNC supports expanding access to early childhood education, healthcare, and nutrition programs to ensure all children have a strong start in life.
Education	Promote school choice and parental rights. The RNC supports policies that allow parents to choose their children’s schools, including charter schools and voucher programs.	Expand school choice and limit federal control. Project 2025 emphasizes increasing parental control over education, reducing federal influence, and expanding charter schools and voucher systems.	Strengthen public education. The DNC supports increasing funding for public schools, opposing voucher programs, and ensuring that all children have access to a quality education.
School Curriculum	Ensure curricula reflect American values. The RNC advocates for curricula that emphasize patriotism, traditional values, and the positive aspects of American history.	Promote opportunities for women within traditional roles. The RNC supports policies that respect women’s family roles and promote workforce opportunities that align with traditional values.	Promote traditional education standards. Project 2025 recommends curricula that emphasize the nation’s founding principles, traditional values, and a balanced view of history.
Women	Promote opportunities for women within traditional roles. The RNC supports policies that respect women’s family roles and promote workforce opportunities that align with traditional values.	Encourage traditional gender roles and family structures. Project 2025 advocates for policies that support traditional family roles while ensuring women have opportunities within these frameworks.	Advance gender equality and women’s rights. The DNC supports policies that ensure equal pay, reproductive rights, and opportunities for women in all areas of life, including leadership roles.
Abortion	Oppose abortion and promote the right to life. The RNC is committed to protecting the unborn and supports restrictions on abortion access.	Defend the right to life. Project 2025 advocates for policies that protect unborn children and restrict access to abortion, promoting alternatives like adoption and support for expectant mothers.	Protect reproductive rights. The DNC supports access to safe and legal abortion, opposing restrictions and advocating for comprehensive reproductive healthcare for all women.
LGBTQIA+	Support traditional marriage and family structures. The RNC opposes policies that it believes undermine traditional marriage and family structures, including those supporting LGBTQIA+ rights.	Defend traditional values and oppose LGBTQIA+ rights expansion. Project 2025 emphasizes the importance of traditional family structures and opposes federal policies that expand LGBTQIA+ rights.	Promote equality and protect LGBTQIA+ rights. The DNC supports full legal equality for LGBTQIA+ individuals, including anti-discrimination laws, marriage equality, and access to healthcare.