Send Education Back to the States

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Does anyone really believe that the most efficient way to educate America’s children is to send vast sums of money to Washington, D.C. and then hope some of them come back to local schools? Or to allow the federal government to choose one-size-fits-all standards for schools across America? President-elect Donald Trump has nominated former Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education, with a mission of shutting down the bureaucratic quagmire. At the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, former congressman and presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul, encourages the administration to “get the government out of the classroom.” He writes:

President-elect Trump has nominated former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education. President-elect Trump promised that, if confirmed, Mrs. McMahon would “spearhead” the effort to “send education back to the states.” This has led some people to wonder if Linda McMahon may be the last Secretary of Education.

The Constitution does not give the federal government any role in education. Instead, education is left in the hands of state and local governments and private citizens. For almost 200 years American children were provided with education largely free of US government interference.

In the 1950s, a significant federal intervention in education was created as a response to fears that America was losing the “space race” to the Soviet Union and thus needed to improve science education. In this instance, the Cold War contributed to the growth of federal government involvement in education.

The Department of Education was created in 1979. Since then, presidents, both Republican and Democrat, have expanded federal funding and control of education with little or no improvement in student performance. Anger over their children being denied a year or more of education over fears of covid caused many parents to abandon government schools. Many other parents began challenging the use of schools to indoctrinate children in “woke” ideology. Some of these parents started attending school board meetings and running for school boards.

Woke education also caused more parents to abandon government schools. The key to improving education quality and stopping schools from promoting a political agenda is restoring control over education to those most concerned that children receive a quality education and who best know children’s unique needs and abilities: parents.

The best way to empower parents is to restore parents’ control over the education dollar. Fortunately, President-elect Trump has proposed adding a 10,000 dollars tax credit for homeschooling parents to the tax legislation Congress will consider next year. Tax credits should also be made available for private school tuition and any educational expenses — such as supplies, tutoring, or costs related to participation in an extracurricular activity — of parents who choose to send their children to government schools. Tax credits should also be available for donations to programs helping low-income students attend private schools. Education tax credits should be paired with cuts in the Department of Education. Americans will always spend generously on education. The question is who should control the education dollar: politicians and bureaucrats or parents.

Read more here.

President Trump declaring he wants to get rid of the Department of Education and leave the states in charge.pic.twitter.com/fjh1bOwZn1

— TaraBull (@TaraBull808) November 11, 2024