South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds has introduced a bill that would “abolish the Department of Education” and “for other purposes.” The bill, also referred to as the “Returning Education to Our States Act,” has now been referred to committee for a vote.
If passed, the bill would abolish the Department of Education, except for certain programs. For example, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act will be transferred to Health and Human Services, along with the Impact Aid program under Title VIII.
The program and authority from the Office of Indian Education will be transferred to the Department of the Interior. Federal Pell Grants will be transferred to the Department of the Treasury, as well as the bulk of the Federal Family Education Loan Programs.
Under this bill, elementary and secondary education grants will also be delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury. The amount funded, dependent on the number of students enrolled in public, private, and home schools in each State, will remain the same as the previous fiscal year.
On November 19th, President Trump issued a statement naming Linda McMahon, the former Administrator of the Small Business Administration and co-founder of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
In that statement, the President stated: “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”
However, part of the bill introduced by Sen. Rounds not only seems to simply delegate those authorities to another executive bureaucracy, namely the Treasury, but it also has a cutout requiring states receiving block grants to commit to the following:
- Submitting student data to the Secretary of Treasury annually, as requested by the Secretary of Treasury and as necessary for executing the program under this section;
- Completing of annual audits that conform to generally accepted accounting principles, auditing procedures, and safeguarding of funds that conform to the Single Audit Act and submitting the results of such audits to the Secretary of Treasury;
- Complying with all applicable Federal civil rights laws.
While the bill does abolish the Department of Education, as President Trump has expressed a great desire to do, it seems to simply delegate those responsibilities to two other cabinets, the Treasury and Health and Human Services.
Given the current Democrat majority of the Senate currently and their agenda in continuing the Marxist indoctrination through our education system, it is unlikely this bill will pass.
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