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Five ways Trump and McMahon can make education great
By Betsy DeVos
Published December 13, 2024
America’s students, and their parents, deserve so much better than what they’ve been given over the last several years. In fact, they deserve better than what they’ve been given since 1979 when the U.S. Department of Education was foisted upon them as a payoff to the school union bosses by Jimmy Carter.
Fortunately for America’s families, the tables have turned.
Education – an issue that, much to my chagrin, too often went largely ignored by Republicans – has become a focal point. President Trump and candidates up and down the ballot ran on expanding education freedom, restoring local control, and ending the indoctrination that plagues too many of America’s schools. Parents and voters responded favorably, and for good reason.
Seventy percent of fourth graders cannot read at grade level. Math achievement has cratered, in no small part due to the union’s COVID lockdowns. Teachers are being physically assaulted and yet told they can’t enforce classroom discipline because it’s "racist." Biden has forced American taxpayers, the majority of whom never went to college, to pay off billions of dollars in student loan debt through various loan "forgiveness" schemes that largely benefit high-income earners. Female athletes have lost scholarships and first-place finishes to men identifying as women – and then, adding insult to injury, were forced to shower in front of those men. Some children are even being "socially transitioned" to a different gender behind their parent’s backs.
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Woke education, whether called DEI, CRT, SEL or whatever acronym de jour, isn’t education at all – it’s indoctrination. Parents and students alike have had enough.
President Trump has a unique and historic opportunity to enact bold reforms that could change the trajectory of American education forever. This is a pivotal moment for empowering families, transforming a broken system, and making sure every child in America has access to a world-class education that leads to a meaningful life and productive career.
TRUMP WANTS TO DISSOLVE THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. EXPERTS SAY IT COULD CHANGE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Here’s how President Trump and Secretary of Education designee Linda McMahon can do it:
To start, unlock education freedom for every family across the country by working with Congress to pass the Educational Choice for Children Act.
This bill would give money allocated for a student’s education directly to parents so they can choose where, when and how their kids learn. This is the fastest way to fix the student achievement crisis across the country. There’s no greater accountability than parents being able to walk away from a school that is no longer serving their needs. As has been proven in dozens of states, creating an education marketplace will force schools to pay closer attention to the needs and expectations of the families they serve. It will also improve student outcomes, as dozens upon dozens of studies have found.
Next, block grant Federal education funding directly to states and take the U.S. Department of Education’s meddling bureaucrats out of the equation.
Right now, the money Congress appropriates for education gets shuffled around both the federal and state bureaucracies and spit back out with lots of red tape and strings attached—including harmful DEI and CRT requirements hidden within grant conditions and other programs. A recent bombshell report detailed how the Biden administration leveraged the Education Department bureaucracy to divert more than $1 billion to DEI projects. Block-granting these funds would put an end to such nonsense and take out the harmful middlemen. Families, local leaders and teachers are far better equipped to make decisions about local education spending than distant bureaucrats in Washington.
In addition to improving efficiency and increasing the total number of dollars available to schools, block-granting the money will give states the freedom and flexibility to try new ideas and innovate on behalf of students and teachers. They can focus on what really matters and what will truly help students succeed. That importantly includes low-income students and students with disabilities who are all-too-often being left behind.
Third, restore Title IX to its original meaning.
Title IX was created to ensure equal opportunities for women and prohibit discrimination, but it has been weaponized and transformed into a tool for discrimination. That must end day one. From President Obama eradicating due process rights and creating campus kangaroo courts to the Biden administration’s redefinition of "sex" in the law to mean "gender identity," Democrats have gutted Title IX’s protections in favor of social engineering. During the first Trump presidency, we righted the ship, and now President Trump once again has the chance to save women’s sports and protect women’s rights.
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Fourth, transform student lending.
The federal student loan system is broken. The recent failure to launch the simplified Federal Student Aid form, known as the FAFSA, exemplifies the dysfunction. The Department had three years to simplify the FAFSA form, and not only did it miss every deadline but also locked millions of lower income high schoolers out of the opportunity to attend college altogether. Federal Student Aid needs a complete overhaul, starting with strong governance by people with financial services expertise who have fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers. Private lending options, many of which would offer better terms and customer service, should also be reintroduced into the marketplace. All of this is a prime target for Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy’s DOGE effort.
Trump has tapped Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education. (Reuters)
Finally, college is not—and should not be—the only option for students after high school.
Apprenticeships, shorter-term certificates, career and technical education, and other hands-on training programs are critical pathways to high-demand, high-paying jobs. As an added bonus, these programs are much less likely to be run by highly paid DEI consultants and antisemitic administrators. Fortunately, this is an area where Democrats have seen the light. That should make it easier to eradicate four-year degree bias from all government programs, from grant and loan programs to government hiring practices.
The window to truly rethink education in America has been flung wide open. Now is the time for bold and transformative action. By advancing these reforms without delay, we can usher in a new era that inspires and equips students, empowers families, respects teachers, and ensures the future of our great nation.
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