Like many federal departments, the Department of Education is a waste of money and time. It also interferes with local control. It doesn’t exist for many good reasons and, if you’re being honest with yourself, it’s more of a vanity project for administrations to use as an excuse to claim they are doing something good and new for children.
Thomas Massie, a Kentucky resident, is trying to destroy it.
Massie announced Wednesday on X that he had introduced H.R. 899 a bill that would eliminate the Department of Energy.
Massie wrote: “I have introduced a bill that will end the Department of Education.” We must return money and authority to the states, school districts, and teachers before it is too late.
I introduced a bill to end the Department of Education.
We must return the money and authority back to states, school districts, teachers, and parents before it’s too late. pic.twitter.com/XQ2rNpNtSs
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) February 21, 2024
Massie goes into more detail on his website and quotes Ronald Reagan, who wanted to abolish the Department of Education.
Massie said that Washington, D.C. bureaucrats who are not elected should not be responsible for the intellectual and moral development of our children. States and local communities have the best opportunity to create curricula that meet the needs of students. Schools must be held accountable. Parents should be able to choose what educational option is best for their child, whether it’s homeschooling, public schooling, or private schools.
The Department of Education was established in 1980. In his Address to the Nation on the Program for Economic Recovery delivered on September 24, 1981, by President Ronald Reagan, he said: “As the third step, we will dismantle the two Cabinet Departments of Energy and Education.” Both Secretaries agree with this. Some activities from both departments will be carried out independently or by other government agencies. The only way to reduce the size and costs of government is to eliminate agencies that are unnecessary and get in the way. We don’t require an Energy Department to solve the basic problem of energy. We can solve our energy problem without an Energy Department as long as we don’t interfere with the market forces. Education is also the responsibility of local schools, teachers, parents, and citizen boards. We can reduce the budget and ensure local needs, preferences, and Washington’s wishes do not determine education for our children by eliminating the Department of Education, less than two years after its creation.
The Department of Education is notorious for spending outrageous amounts of money. While it has decreased significantly (from nearly $638 billion in 2012 to $274 billion by 2023), this still consumes a large amount of tax dollars. Most of these dollars go towards grants and student loan repayments, which Democrats would like to do with your tax dollars.
This is also where radical activists flock. I reported in 2021 that the Biden administration had promoted two radical CRT organizations through the DoE to transform the curriculum of our nation’s schools, and one group openly stated they wanted to “be feared.”
In September of last year, DoE decided that author and educator Christopher Rufo was being investigated for “misgendering”, a DEI Director at New College of Florida.
This is a useless department, which has no real purpose and is terrible in all other ways. This department is rife with corruption and abuse. It needs to be eliminated.
Massie argues that state and local officials should have more control over the education system. Families and local communities should be able to have more control over the education of their children, and the federal government must stay out.
