For more than four decades, the federal government has controlled American education, and the results speak for themselves: declining test scores, skyrocketing costs, and millions of students left behind. Since its creation in 1979, the Department of Education has burned through more than <a href="https://committeetounleashprosperity.com/hotlines/trump-is-right-federal-education-department-a-trillion-dollar-failure/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1 trillion</a> in taxpayer dollars. What do we have to show for it?
The latest data from the Nation’s Report Card paints a bleak picture. <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/mathematics/2024/g4_8/?grade=8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mathematics</a> and <a href="https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/reading/2024/g4_8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reading</a> scores for 13-year-olds are at their lowest in decades. Barely a third of elementary school students can read at grade level. <a href="https://gizmodo.com/u-s-students-post-lowest-reading-scores-in-decades-2000557027" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Low-performing</a> students are faring even worse. And despite the government throwing more money at the problem — per-pupil spending has surged by more than <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/2572941/test-scores-have-barely-risen-since-1970-despite-245-spending-increase/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">245%</a> since the 1970s — outcomes have only gotten worse.
Meanwhile, the cost of college has exploded by <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/college-tuition-cost-rise-loans-administrative-bloat/#:~:text=Between%201980%20and%202023%2C%20the,News%20and%20World%20Report%20found." target="_blank" rel="noopener">155%</a> since the Department of Education’s founding. Students are graduating with crushing debt, only to land jobs that <a href="https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/careers/college-degree-jobs-unused-440b2abd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">don&#8217;t</a> even require degrees. We have seen funding fall by <a href="https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/the-pork-barrel-politics-the-department-education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">50%</a> for career and technical education while Democrats continue to spend money on woke nonsense. Funding for Indian education has also declined by 27% alongside impact aid for schools serving military families which has dropped by 41%. Instead of fixing these problems, the Biden administration made things worse. Our kids deserve better.
Under Biden, the Department of Education wasted <a href="https://defendinged.org/investigations/granted/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1 billion</a> on grants pushing radical ideologies and <a href="https://edworkforce.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=411780" target="_blank" rel="noopener">rewrote</a> Title IX to let men compete in women’s sports. Bureaucrats in Washington are drowning schools in regulations, adding <a href="https://regrodeo.com/?year%5B0%5D=2024&amp;year%5B1%5D=2023&amp;year%5B2%5D=2022&amp;year%5B3%5D=2021&amp;agency%5B0%5D=Education" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$3.9 billion</a> in costs. Even a simple task like simplifying the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) proved <a href="https://budget.house.gov/imo/media/doc/fafsa.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">too much</a> for Biden’s team.
Enough is enough.
President Trump is delivering the reform America needs. His administration has already canceled <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-cancels-divisive-and-wasteful-grants-under-comprehensive-centers-program" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$226 million</a> in woke grants which forced divisive agendas like race-based discrimination and gender identity ideology onto states. But that’s just the beginning. By dismantling the Department of Education, we will return power to where it belongs: states, parents, and teachers.
The Constitution never envisioned a federal role in education — it’s a responsibility reserved for the states. Yet for decades, the Department of Education has smothered schools with regulations, diverted resources to ideological crusades, and undermined teachers, parents, and students. Thanks to President Trump, taxpayers will no longer foot the bill for progressive experiments and obsolete programs.
This isn’t just about cutting costs — it’s about unleashing potential. Imagine empowering states to achieve educational excellence: going back to basics like math and reading — not divisive ideologies — and adopting <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-president-trumps-ten-principles-for-great-schools-leading-to-great-jobs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">patriotic civics lessons</a> that inspire pride in our nation’s history. Governors will be measured by student success, not by how well they comply with Washington’s bureaucratic demands. Education will be brought closer to the students and our system will be transformed.
The benefits will ripple outward. Teachers, freed from layers of red tape, will be able to do what they do best — teach. Parents will finally have a real say in their children’s education. And America’s schools will no longer be controlled by faceless bureaucrats or teachers’ unions pushing political agendas. The woke stranglehold on public education will be broken.
Critics will cry that eliminating the Department of Education will hurt students. But the truth is, Washington has failed them for generations. It’s time to try something new. President Trump’s vision trusts states and parents to deliver what Washington never could: an education system that works.
With President Trump’s leadership, we’re not just reforming education — we’re reclaiming it. The future of our children, and our nation, depends on it.
* * *
U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin represents the state of Oklahoma. He serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee; the Appropriations Committee; the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee; and the Indian Affairs Committee.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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