Good Bye Dept of Ed

This opinion may surprise some of my readers.
  
In the past I have criticized the Trump administration on almost everything it has done. My belief is that the administration has not acted within the constitutional procedures available to the administration to accomplish what it wishes.  What causes me great concern is Trump is ruling (governing) by Executive Order, when the Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House.  Trump should not have to issue Executive Orders to get what he wants.

Early on in this administration, Trump impounded appropriated money to stop payment to organizations, (mainly USAID) which Musk and he deemed unnecessary.  Trump tried to do this by Executive Order (EO).  The Judiciary blocked Trump from impounding the funds.  And here is why.

The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 created the procedural means by which the Congress considers and reviews executive branch withholdings of budget authority. It requires the President to report promptly to the Congress all withholdings of budget authority and to abide by the outcome of the congressional impoundment review process.(1). Essentially, all Trump had to do was to ask Congress not to make the payment of appropriated funds and all would be good.

In another issuance of an EO, the President Trump is dismantling the Department of Education (ED).  The ED was created for the first time in 1867 by Congress and President Andrew Johnson.  In time, the ED was restructured as The Office of Education and placed into many different cabinet departments.  In 1979, Congress once again established the Department of Education at the Cabinet level.
 
Trump’s EO to dismantle the Department of Education is procedurally incorrect. Because Congress created the Department of Education, it is the entity that can “legally” dismantle it.  Trump is circumnavigating the procedure of going to Congress and asking for the dismantling of the Department.  Trump’s move could be judged as “unconstitutional” by the court, just as his impounding of appropriated funds were.  Now why would one not use the correct and appropriate measures to get what he wants?  I’ll leave you to arrive at your own conclusion.

Now for the surprising part…I agree with the President on dismantling the ED.  I have always thought there should not be a Department of Education.  Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution clearly enumerates the powers given to the Congress as a lawmaking body.  If one were to read this portion of the Constitution, one would never see the word education. (Surprisingly, one would see the word “naturalization” which gives the power of immigration to the Congress, not the President).

I believe when politicians started making decisions about educational policy, we, as a country ran aground.  What do the members of the House and Senate know about education, or Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, Bloom’s Taxonomy, how poverty and hunger, and curriculum all affect learning?  
Here is a bit to consider:  Most all teachers have a Bachelor’s degree (some charter school teachers do not) and many more have a Master’s degree.  Teachers, like doctors or lawyers are highly educated, and should be considered professionals, although society doesn’t view teaching as a true profession.  
Doctors make life and death decisions based on their education and experience, lawyers prosecute or defend clients using their education and experience. And yet we allow politicians to make educational policy when there is a work force that is quite capable of doing so.

I will agree the ED provided services for higher education, namely in the form of student loans.  I, myself, went to college under the old FISL program which was before the creation of the ED in 1979.  The FISL program guaranteed school loans to loaning institutions who participated in the program.  The program worked except for one small problem:  Not too many people paid their loans back to the lenders.  The federal government reimbursed the lender, but did not try to recover money from the student(s) who defaulted.  The federal government did not think to use income tax returns or garnish wages to recoup the defaulted amount.  And yes, I repaid my loan…every cent.
  
The ED also provided a “National Certification” process for classroom teachers to acquire.  To me, it was meaningless because a National Certificate was not recognized by states.  The individual states set their own standards for teacher certification.  As it stands today, Arizona has reciprocity for teacher certification with most all states, if the teacher is in good standing with the state in which he holds a certificate. The federal government is not involved with certification, or reciprocity at all.

The final blow to the Department of Education is just this:  Since 1979, the nation’s educational statistics have declined to a level that is ALARMING!  When was the Department of Education instituted?  Let me remind you, 1979.  That is when national politicians started making educational policy.  That is when the national government began handing out large sums of money to school districts and states, but only if said districts and states succumbed to the desires of the national government.

However, there are consequences to the elimination of the Department of Education.

What happens to Arizona, and other states’ educational systems, when federal funding goes away?  In 2021-2022 the federal government provided about 2.8 billion dollars to Arizona schools.  That represents about $2500 a student.(2). Arizona will now have to come up with that type of money just to stay current in educational expenditures.  One of two things will have to happen:  Higher taxes for schools, or the consolidation of schools, which would mean large class sizes, and I mean large.  Unfortunately, research indicates students have a greater chance of learning in small classes.

Along with larger class size, the free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs may go away as well.  The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free lunches to children in public and nonprofit private schools and residential childcare institutions, ensuring students receive nutritious meals each school day.(2). This is administered by the USDA, but it is educational funding to schools, so your guess is as good as mine.
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I’m glad the ED is gone, but because it has been in operation for so long, the fall out from the dismantling of the ED is going to have severe consequences.  Buckle up!  Oh, and there is more to come regarding education…
 

1. https://www.gao.gov/products/095406
2. https://www.fns.usda.gov/nslp

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