Editorial: Trump delivering on Education Dept. promise
The Trump administration is making significant strides toward restructuring the Department of Education, a move that many supporters believe is long overdue. According to a recent report by The Washington Post, key grant programs within the department are being transferred to other Cabinet agencies, including the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education, both of which will now fall under the Labor Department. Furthermore, the International Foreign Language Education program will be relocated to the State Department. While completely dismantling the Department of Education would require Congressional approval, the White House is exercising its authority to reorganize and downsize its functions, marking a bold step in a decades-long conservative agenda to limit federal control over education.
The Department of Education, established by President Jimmy Carter in 1979, has faced criticism for failing to improve American public education despite a staggering budget increase from $14 billion to $268 billion in fiscal 2024. Critics argue that U.S. test scores remain stagnant and college costs have skyrocketed, leaving graduates with overwhelming debt burdens. Education Secretary Linda McMahon emphasized that the administration’s goal is to empower state and local education officials by reducing federal oversight and allowing them more discretion in managing funds. In her op-ed for USA Today, McMahon asserted that the department mainly serves as a conduit for federal funding, which is better managed at the state level. She dismissed fears that the restructuring would jeopardize essential programs, assuring that federal support for low-income students and civil rights protections would remain intact.
This initiative aligns with a long-standing Republican desire to reduce the federal government’s role in education, a promise made by Trump during his campaign. Unlike previous GOP leaders who hesitated to act, Trump is taking concrete steps to fulfill this commitment. As noted by education policy experts, the federal government contributes only about 8.5% of local education funding, yet it wields significant influence through regulations and mandates that can stifle innovation and reform. By transferring responsibilities and funding back to state and local authorities, the Trump administration aims to foster a more flexible and responsive educational system. The challenge now lies in rallying Congressional support to ensure these changes are fully realized, as the administration pushes for a more decentralized approach to education governance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNQ3CxPzu1I
The Trump administration is moving forward with efforts to neuter the Department of Education. The move couldn’t come fast enough.
The Washington Post reported this week that various grant programs within the department will be moved under other Cabinet agencies. This includes the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education, which will become part of the Labor Department. International Foreign Language Education will become part of the State Department.
It would take an act of Congress to eliminate the Education Department outright, but the White House does have leeway to downsize and reorganize its functions.
President Jimmy Carter created the department in 1979 as a sop to the teachers unions. Since then, it has done virtually nothing to improve the state of American public education while its budget has jumped from an original $14 billion to $268 billion in fiscal 2024. Meanwhile, U.S. test scores lag and the price of college has soared, leaving many graduates buried in debt.
Republicans from Ronald Reagan on have repeatedly vowed to dismantle the agency, but Trump is the first to follow through.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon noted that the goal is to give state and local education officials more discretion rather than to shackle them with the edicts that often accompany federal funding.
“The shutdown proved an argument that conservatives have been making for 45 years,” McMahon wrote in a recent op-ed for USA Today. “The U.S. Department of Education is mostly a pass-through for funds that are best managed by the states.”
Defenders of the department scare parents by claiming reforms will mean the end of vital programs at their local schools. Nonsense. “It simply means the end of a centralized bureaucracy micromanaging what should be a state-led responsibility,” McMahon explained.
“Funding for low-income students and students with disabilities predates the Education Department and will continue indefinitely. Protecting students’ civil rights is work that will never go away.”
Indeed, the federal government supplies only about 8.5% of local education spending. “But the feds need relatively little money to exert power,” writes Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute. And that power burdens school districts with edicts and mandates that often discourage reform and experimentation while doing little to improve student outcomes.
Eliminating the Department of Education was one of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises, and he deserves credit for moving forward where other GOP leaders got cold feet. Trump and McMahon should next put heat on Republicans in Congress to finish the job.
Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service
Editorial cartoon by Steve Kelley (Creators Syndicate)
