In March, the President issued an executive order to close the Department of Education, a move many feel will reshape federal education policy and affect America’s 49.5 million public school students. The order mandates redistributing the department’s functions across multiple federal agencies by the end of this year marking a major change in how the federal government approaches education. Such a decision to end the 45 year-old entity will require an act of Congress.
There are many reasons as to why many feel this is a good move. The U.S. Department of Education, as most scholars have pointed out, is unconstitutional. Education is nowhere among the specific, enumerated powers given to the federal government.
President Roosevelt even knew that. In 1943, the U.S. Constitution Sesquicentennial Commission, which Roosevelt chaired, published a document that included the following: “Q. Where, in the Constitution, is there mention of education? A. There is none; education is a matter reserved for the states.”
Statistics show in K–12 education there is no meaningful evidence the Department, or federal spending, has improved education outcomes in recent years. While this spending has risen, National Assessment of Educational Progress outcomes have largely stagnated.
Maybe standardized test scores are a great way to measure how well the education system is working, but it is the Feds that elevated them under the No Child Left Behind Act, Race to the Top, and Common Core programs. So, even by Washington’s own measuring tools, it has not been very effective.
The Department’s biggest job is to administer federal student aid programs, especially student loans. However, as the Government Accountability Office recently reported, it has failed at basic functions like tracking repayments for years. It could not even simplify the form to apply for aid without causing immense confusion.
And, think about history here: We in this country had been educating children for centuries before the Department launched in 1980 and led the world economically, technologically, and just about every other category. States, districts, families, and professional educators should be responsible for education, not Washington. Just take a look at our own state’s recent incredible gains.
Then, there are its many failures: the Department admitted in January that “not only did most students not recover from pandemic-related learning loss, but those students who were the most behind and needed the most support have fallen even further behind.” Specifically, in 2024, the average reading score for the nation at grade eight was two points lower than 2022 and five points lower compared to 2019. This according to the Department’s own numbers. In mathematics, “the average score at eighth grade was not significantly different from 2022 but was eight points lower compared to 2019.”
As a point of fact, the Department, while representing around 4% of federal spending, provides only a fraction of the funding for public schools: 92% of the money comes from states and localities. Still, federal bureaucrats with no background in education have an enormous impact because “the federal government uses a complex system of funding mechanisms, policy directives, and the soft but considerable power of the presidential bully pulpit to shape what, how, and where students learn,” as Brendan Pelsue wrote in 2017 for the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Ed. Magazine.
The meaning—our federal Department of Education creates mostly red tape, nudges, winks and nods from bureaucrats, and encourages further paperwork at the state and local level to ensure compliance to its rules and regulations. The results are not good. Parents are fleeing public schools in favor of alternatives including private schools, charter schools, and homeschooling.
In 2000, the department’s budget was $38 billion. By 2024, spending had climbed to $250.7 billion—a 649 percent increase over that period. Despite this massive budget growth, the Department’s workforce has decreased by 14 percent since 2000. The average employee salary has risen to approximately $155,000, compared to $72,340 for state education department staff.
Meanwhile, according to the National Education Association, teacher salaries have declined 4.5 percent in inflation-adjusted dollars over the past decade. With 90 percent of K-12 salary funding coming from non-federal sources, most educators feel overlooked in federal budget priorities. As well they should.
And as for outcomes? Only 33 percent of fourth-graders and 31 percents of eighth-graders read at or above proficiency levels in our nation.Math proficiency stands at just 36% for fourth-graders and 26 percents for eighth-graders. While the national graduation rate is 86.5 percent, large gaps remain for minority students
Supporters of closing the Department make the valid point that shifting control to states and localities will improve efficiency and outcomes. By removing federal oversight, they claim educational decision-making will become more flexible and better tailored to local needs. They are correct.
The Department was created, most now realize, as a political payoff by the administration of then-President Jimmy Carter to the National Education Association (which, by that time, had become a de facto labor union) in return for its endorsement during his 1976 election campaign. Carved from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare by Congress, the Department of Education came into existence in 1980.
That same year, Ronald Reagan ran for president pledging to kill it, but there was little congressional Republican desire to fight again.
Stay tuned: soon this issue will be at the forefront.
Top 40 Under 40
In closing, the annual“Top 40 Under 40” awards recognizes the young outstanding professionals in Mississippi who are excelling in their fields. In the July edition, we will recognize these young leaders and entrepreneurs for their overall career accomplishments. The honorees of these awards should be driven by success, motivated by challenges, actively involved in their community, and role models for their peers.
On Page 9 you will find information on how to select these special individuals form across the state. We at the Mississippi Business Journal would greatly appreciate your participation in nominating who you feel should be a member of this year’s class.
Scott Coopwood