Reasons to eliminate the Department of Education

In recent hours, Democrats have been distressed by President Donald Trump's intention to eliminate the Department of Education. Those concerned about the complaints and the call for panic by some politicians should keep in mind, among other things, that this department was not created until 1980, and that the Constitution does not give the federal government authority to handle education.

Although the Department of Education is relatively small, the improvements that could be made in education for millions of children are even more important than the amount of money saved by closing it. For fiscal year 2024, the budget was approximately $85 billion and the department is estimated to have about 4,000 employees.

Only children's and youth's educational programs 8.5% of public school funding comes from the Department of Education, yet that amount is enough for Washington to exert pressure by enforcing federal standards and imposing its agenda on schools nationwide. Washington bureaucrats should not have such influence over the educational programs of children and youth; instead, state governments (who know each community's particular needs) and parents should define the direction of education.

Federal policymakers, detached from local realities and driven by different interests, are not in a position or have the information necessary to create programs and interventions that effectively address the diverse learning needs of children and youth across the country. Department of Education staff can never have the information that local leaders and parents have.

In addition, each community has different needs and particularities, so a breakthrough would be to eliminate most large standardized programs and allow communities to accommodate education to their specific situations. The elimination of the Department of Education should be seen as giving authority back to families over one of the most important areas in a child's life.

In more than 40 years of the Department of Education's existence, there has been no significant overall improvement in education, nor a reduction in the academic achievement gaps between children from low-income families and children from higher-income families. Meanwhile, countries that invest much less than the United States in education achieve much better results.

The constant complaints from Americans about what is happening in education, as well as the palpable evidence that the Department has not delivered good results, should be enough to make even those who see the proposal to eliminate it as a radical measure take the time to review the data and the proposals of those who prefer to put education back in the hands of states and families.

When he became president, Ronald Reagan also tried to eliminate the Department of Education, even going so far as to call it "Carter's bureaucratic boondoggle." Unfortunately, in 1982, he failed to pass the legislation. Perhaps Donald Trump can achieve this great education revolution.