Editorial: Trump delivering on Education Dept. promise
The Trump administration is taking significant steps to diminish the power of the Department of Education, a move that has been a long-standing goal for many Republican leaders. According to a recent report from The Washington Post, various grant programs within the department are being transferred 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 move to the State Department. Although outright elimination of the Education Department would require congressional action, the administration is leveraging its authority to reorganize and downsize its functions, which has sparked a heated debate about the future of education policy in the U.S.
The Department of Education was established in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter, primarily to appease teachers’ unions. Since its inception, the department’s budget has ballooned from $14 billion to an astonishing $268 billion for fiscal year 2024, yet American test scores have stagnated, and college costs continue to rise, leaving many graduates with crippling debt. Critics argue that the department has failed to improve public education, with Education Secretary Linda McMahon asserting that state and local officials should have more autonomy over educational decisions. She contends that the federal government’s involvement often leads to a cumbersome bureaucracy that stifles innovation and reform. McMahon emphasizes that funding for low-income students and students with disabilities existed before the department and will persist, implying that the essential support for education will remain intact despite the restructuring.
Proponents of the department warn that these changes could jeopardize crucial programs at local schools, but McMahon counters this narrative by asserting that the shift is aimed at reducing federal overreach. The federal government currently contributes only about 8.5% of local education funding, yet it wields significant influence through regulations and mandates that can hinder progress. By moving forward with these changes, Trump is not only fulfilling a campaign promise but also challenging the status quo that many believe has not served American students effectively. As the administration continues to push for educational reform, the call to action extends to Republican lawmakers in Congress to support these efforts and help reshape the future of education in the United States.
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)
