In the days following his historic victory, former President and President-elect Trump promised, among other reforms, to eliminate the federal Department of Education.
Unlike entertainers talking about politics, I feel personally qualified to speak to this issue. As a licensed teacher since 1987, I cannot recall a single time that federal bureaucracy has helped my students or me be more successful in the classroom.
Trump’s announcement has triggered much pearl-clutching, but ponder:
- The “Department of Education” is not the same as “Education.” After its demise, there will still be schools, teaching, and budget. There just won’t be the federal bureaucracy involved, so those extra dollars can be used to actually help students and teachers.
- Education should be the domain of the states and localities. The 10th Amendment to the US Constitution, nicknamed “the most ignored Amendment in America,” states: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” The word “Education” appears nowhere in the Constitution, so leave it to the states and their voters. “But what if a city or state has crummy school systems?” you ask. Then it’s up to the voters there to fire bad leaders and replace them with better ones.
- The Department of Education is relatively new. Pres. Jimmy Carter (D) created it in late 1979 and it began operating in May 1980. (Educational issues at the national level used to belong to the old “Health, Education and Welfare” Department.) Allegedly, Carter formed it as a kind of quid pro quo to get teachers’ unions to support his (ultimately) failed bid for re-election against Ronald Reagan (R).
- Americans got educated from 1776-1980, from the days of George Washington to Jimmy Carter. Public schools in the US began during Colonial days, beginning in New England. Little-known fact: In 1647, the Massachusetts legislature passed the “Old Deluder Satan Act.” That law sprang from the belief that if people are ignorant and illiterate, they will be unable to read the Bible and thus fall prey to the devil’s schemes. “‘One chief project of that old deluder, Satan,’ the law read, was to ‘keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures.’ The law required every town with more than 50 families to set up a reading school, known as dame schools. Towns with more than 100 families had to run a grammar school in addition to a reading school.” (source) Some have claimed literacy rates in Colonial America were higher than they are in the US today! (source)
- On a personal note: Carter began his new Department one month before I left middle school. So, my education in Roanoke County Public Schools from grades 1 to 9 was overseen by the County and Richmond. Of course the impact of one’s family, community, church etc. on a child’s development is incalculable. I say this not to sound boastful but to make a point. The educational foundation I received in Roanoke County…with little to no involvement from DC…helped me get into and graduate from William and Mary, earn a master’s degree, hold a teaching license since 1987, start a business, travel the world, become trilingual, and write an award-winning book. Plus, the fact that you’re reading this column shows you find some value from an author who managed to get through elementary and middle school without a federal Department of Education.
- Our current educational system is in freefall. Examples are rife. A survey by the National Geographic Society some years ago found 11% of American adults couldn’t find the USA on a blank outline map. During my time teaching honors history at Roanoke City’s Patrick Henry High School, an international survey of student achievement and attitudes was released. I pointed out some key findings to my students. Among the nations surveyed, South Koreans scored top in math but worst in self-esteem. In contrast, American students scored next-to-worst in math (second only to Mexico), but number one in self-esteem. I explained it to my classes this way: South Koreans are the best at math, but have a low self-image. In contrast, lots of Americans are dumb as a bag of rocks but boy we feel great about ourselves!”
In response to reports of his department getting eliminated, Biden’s current Secretary of Education posted this to Twitter.
If you support eliminating the Department of Education, you do not support our students. Period.@USEDgov provides funding for:
✅Students w/ disabilities
✅Rural students
✅Programs that make college affordableThis would be bad for students, and bad for America.
— Secretary Miguel Cardona (@SecCardona) November 12, 2024
Here’s a collection of some responses on Twitter/X:
- You threatened to withhold lunch funding for underprivileged kids if local school districts didn’t force boys into locker rooms with girls. (source)
- “The federal government could send the department’s budget back to the states so they can have more education funding to spend as they see fit. That would allow for more local control — and less wasteful spending on useless bureaucrats in Washington.” (source)
- Putting parents on a terrorist watch list doesn’t seem like such a hot idea now does it Miguel? Preserve and protect your documents because RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act) is coming for you over this. We did not forget. (source)
- You played political games with kids. The 30-year Democrat grift with the Department of Education is DONE. You focused on sick policies instead of teaching kids math, spelling, and science. Good riddance to the Dept. of Education. I hope your bags are packed. (source)
- Aren’t you the guy who ordered schools to close for two years, told schools to force kids to wear masks outside, and totally screwed up FAFSA? Sit this one out. (source)
- You’ve been a walking advertisement for eliminating the department of education. You can support students while eliminating a woke bureaucracy. Bye, bye. (source)
- Funding is provided by the American taxpayers and allocated by Congress. An executive branch agency doesn’t have the “power of the purse.” I feel like you should know this. (source)
- You colluded with the NSBA (National School Boards Association) and the FBI to label parents as terrorists who dare to complain at BOE (Board of Education) meetings. If the department is being abolished, it’s your own fault. (source)
- Time to update your LinkedIn profile! Best of luck! (source)
Go deeper: National Review in October 2024 published “Miguel Cardona Is America’s Worst Education Secretary”
–Scott Dreyer