The Trump administration is renewing its push to move control of education away from Washington and back to the states. As evidence of this need, they cite massive federal spending on education alongside poor results.
This change would make perfect sense. Different parts of the country have different needs and priorities.
FOX News reports:
Trump admin urges returning education to states, citing $3 trillion of taxes spent and poor proficiency scores
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) is emphasizing to parents that control over education needs to be returned to the states, citing $3 trillion in spent taxpayer money and national test scores showing that only three in 10 students are proficient in math and reading, a department spokesperson told Fox News Digital Tuesday.
“Despite $3 trillion in taxpayer investment in a federal Department of Education, only three in 10 students are proficient in reading and math. That is exactly why the Trump administration is returning education to the states and putting local leaders and parents back into the driver’s seat,” the spokesperson said.
“To deliver this urgent message, Secretary McMahon and key department leaders called into local radio nationwide over the past two weeks, connecting directly with millions of parents to highlight our hard reset to education — from restoring parental rights to empowering states to lead and taking ideology out of higher education.”
Education Secretary Linda McMahon vowed earlier this year to dismantle the federal agency when she took office, pledging to hire staff members who would work toward eliminating their respective roles.
The targeted local radio blitz coincides with McMahon’s broader 50-state tour, during which she has spoken directly with families about how K-12 schooling “will be fundamentally different” under the administration’s plan to decentralize federal oversight.
The Education Department put out a press release about this last month:
The Trump Administration is committed to returning education authority where it belongs: the states!
The Department of Education was established in 1980 with the promise of improving education outcomes for America’s students. $3 trillion in taxpayer dollars later, national test scores in reading, writing, and math have plummeted: in 2024, only 35% of fourth and eighth graders in our nation were proficient in reading, and only 39% of fourth graders and 28% of eighth graders were proficient in mathematics.
Our nation’s failing education system is a direct threat to our economic strength, national security, and civic health. We must restore excellence in education.
Secretary McMahon is entrusted with delivering one of President Trump’s most consequential promises: breaking up the education bureaucracy in D.C. and returning educational responsibility to state and local leaders – and ultimately parents – to unleash a new era of excellence.
This is the conservative approach to solving America’s education problems.
Return the power and authority to the states.
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