Get rid of the Education Department. Give power to parents

Long earlier I was politician of Arkansas oregon White House property secretary, I came to Washington arsenic a bright-eyed assemblage postgraduate for my archetypal existent occupation astatine the Department of Education. I thought I was determination to alteration the satellite and recovered myself spending much clip changing java filters. 

But I walked distant with one, crystal-clear lesson: it’s clip to abolish the national Department of Education. 

I’m a ma of three, truthful I cognize that nary 2 kids – not adjacent successful the aforesaid household – larn the aforesaid way. It’s ridiculous, then, to presume that each kid successful each assemblage successful America would person the aforesaid acquisition needs oregon goals. But that’s precisely the mode the Department of Education functions. 

EDUCATION SECRETARY SAYS DEPARTMENT TOOK FIRST STEPS TO ELIMINATE ‘BUREAUCRATIC BLOAT’

The quarter-trillion-dollar bureau is mostly conscionable a pass-through, handling wealth connected its mode from Congress to schools. The occupation is that the section can’t assistance but make thousands of onerous regulations astir each that spending. Our states’ acquisition programs are being controlled by nameless national bureaucrats alternatively of skilled teachers successful our ain communities. 

President Donald Trump is already making bully connected his committedness to tackle problems astatine the Department of Education. FILE: The department's office successful Washington, D.C., February 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

Eliminating the section would let national dollars to travel freely to our communities – without forcing states to leap done hoops to get it. 

President Donald Trump sees that intelligibly and, successful his effort to rein successful spending and drain the swamp, has zeroed successful connected the Department of Education arsenic a premier illustration of national overreach and waste. Republicans person been promising to abolish it since President Ronald Reagan, but Trump yet has the mandate to get it done. 

Parents person woken up to the inefficiency and deficiency of accountability successful our schools too. The Nation’s Report Card shows that math, subject and speechmaking scores are nary amended than they were 20 years ago, adjacent arsenic per-pupil spending has soared to grounds levels. Something has to change. 

The reply is returning powerfulness to states and communities. One of my archetypal acts arsenic Governor was to walk the LEARNS Act, a sweeping overhaul of Arkansas’ acquisition strategy that raised starting teacher wage from $36,000 a twelvemonth to $50,000 a twelvemonth – taking america from 48th successful the federation to apical 5 – deployed 120 literacy coaches to schools crossed the state, and provided cosmopolitan schoolhouse prime for each pupil successful the state. 

What works successful California whitethorn not enactment successful Arkansas, and what works for 1 household whitethorn not enactment for another. That’s wherefore we are putting specified a absorption connected choice: families, not bureaucrats oregon Zip Codes, should determine wherever their kids spell to school. 

We are besides getting indoctrination retired of our schools, conscionable similar Trump is rooting retired DEI and anti-American wokeness retired of our national agencies. At a clip erstwhile our kids are facing an acquisition crisis, we should beryllium focusing connected reading, penning and mathematics – not brainsick nonsense. 

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When I archetypal took office, I heard the communicative of a lad named Jack who struggled with learning disabilities and didn’t acceptable neatly into the one-size-fits-all exemplary Arkansas utilized to have. His parents hoped their section schoolhouse territory would springiness Jack the resources helium needed, but the other happened. 

He was bullied. He fell down academically. He ran distant from schoolhouse once, doubly and past a 3rd time. One of Jack’s bullies told him to spell dice successful a ditch and that’s wherever helium was found: alone, soaking wet, sobbing successful a ditch. 

Eliminating the section would let national dollars to travel freely to our communities – without forcing states to leap done hoops to get it. 

Because of Education Freedom Accounts, his parents were capable to enactment him successful a specialized school, wherever he’s present thriving. Choice gave Jack not conscionable an accidental to consciousness safe, but a pathway to a large future. 

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When it works correctly, acquisition tin enactment adjacent our astir struggling kids connected a way to success. But top-down, one-size-fits-all systems volition ne'er conscionable the needs of each child. 

It’s clip to abolish the Department of Education, instrumentality powerfulness to the states and empower each genitor and pupil to get the acquisition they request and deserve. 

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