In 1979, the federal government created the U.S. Department of Education with promises of national excellence and equal opportunity in schooling. Forty-five years later, what do we have to show for it?

A bloated bureaucracy in Washington, wasted taxpayer dollars, declining student performance, and federal overreach into what was always intended to be a state and local issue. The Department of Education has not educated a single child—it has only made education more expensive, more political, and less effective. It’s time to end this failed experiment and return education to where it belongs: the states, the communities, and the parents.

A Constitutional Overreach

Nowhere in the United States Constitution is the federal government given the authority to regulate education. In fact, the Tenth Amendment is clear:

“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”

Education is not listed as a federal power. It was always intended to be controlled by local governments and the people. The creation of a federal Department of Education was a political maneuver—not a constitutional necessity.

Wasting Taxpayer Dollars

Here’s the real cost of federal involvement: every year, taxpayers send billions to Washington for education. Before a single dollar reaches a classroom, a significant portion is eaten up by administrative costs, regulatory compliance, and political programs.

By the time that money trickles back down to the states, it comes with strings attached—strings that tell teachers what to teach, states how to test, and schools how to operate. Instead of funding students and empowering communities, the federal government is funding bureaucracy and mandating ideology.

Declining Results

Since the Department of Education was created, American students have fallen behind their global peers in key subjects like math and science. Reading scores have stagnated. Civic knowledge has eroded. And even as spending per student has skyrocketed, performance has not improved.

If the Department of Education’s goal was to improve outcomes, it has failed spectacularly.

Federal Strings, Local Consequences

Federal education funding is rarely “free.” It comes with mandates that have introduced controversial curriculum, political ideologies, and unnecessary standardized testing into our classrooms. Programs like Common Core and federally driven Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) standards have only widened the gap between parents and schools—while doing little to help actual learning.

This is not about whether you lean left or right. It’s about whether decisions for children’s education should be made by bureaucrats in Washington or by parents, teachers, and school boards who know those children best.

The Solution: Abolish the Department

It’s time to shut down the Department of Education and return full control of education to the states. Here’s what that would mean:
• More dollars in the classroom, not in federal buildings.
• Greater accountability—parents can vote out school boards, not unelected federal officials.
• Educational freedom—states can innovate and adopt the approaches that work best for their communities.
• Respect for the Constitution—putting power back where it belongs.

Conclusion

If we want to fix American education, we need to start by recognizing one of its biggest problems: federal overreach. For 45 years, the Department of Education has made things worse, not better. Let’s restore control to the states, empower families, and put education back into the hands of those who care most: the American people.

It’s time to abolish the Department of Education. Our kids—and our Constitution—deserve no less.