Editorial: Trump delivering on Education Dept. promise
The Trump administration is taking significant steps to diminish the influence of the Department of Education, a move that has sparked considerable debate among educators, parents, and policymakers. According to a recent report from The Washington Post, the administration plans to transfer various grant programs from the Department of Education to other Cabinet agencies. Notably, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Office of Postsecondary Education will be reassigned to the Labor Department, while the International Foreign Language Education program will be moved to the State Department. Although completely dismantling the Department of Education would require Congressional approval, the White House has the authority to reorganize its functions, reflecting a long-standing Republican desire to reduce federal oversight in education.
The Department of Education was established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, primarily to appease teachers’ unions. However, critics argue that it has failed to produce tangible improvements in American public education despite a staggering budget increase from $14 billion at its inception to an expected $268 billion for fiscal 2024. U.S. educational outcomes, as evidenced by test scores, have not kept pace, and college costs have soared, leaving many graduates in significant debt. Education Secretary Linda McMahon argues that the administration’s goal is to empower state and local education officials by reducing federal mandates, which she claims often hinder innovation. In an op-ed for USA Today, McMahon emphasized that the changes would not eliminate funding for essential programs, such as those supporting low-income students and students with disabilities, but would instead shift the responsibility for managing these funds to state authorities.
Supporters of the Department of Education express concern that these reforms could jeopardize critical programs at local schools, but McMahon counters that the changes merely aim to dismantle a centralized bureaucracy that has historically micromanaged education. With the federal government contributing only about 8.5% of local education funding, critics like Neal McCluskey from the Cato Institute argue that the federal government wields considerable power through its financial contributions, often imposing burdensome mandates that stifle local innovation. By following through on a campaign promise to reduce the Department of Education’s role, President Trump is positioning himself as a leader willing to confront a long-standing issue in the education system, and the administration is now urging Congressional Republicans to support these initiatives. This shift in educational policy is poised to reshape the landscape of American education, potentially giving states greater control over how they manage and allocate educational resources.
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)
