One of President Donald Trump’s core promises during his campaign was to address the federal bureaucracy, which has not only sunk our nation $36 trillion into debt but also tends to prioritize systems over outcomes. This is an urgent need across the federal government, but among the worst offenders has been the Department of Education.
The mission of this $268 billion agency is to promote “student achievement and preparation for global competition,” but in the decades since it was established by President Jimmy Carter, classroom performance has remained stagnant or declined.
It’s no wonder Trump has called for collaborating more with states — or even closing the federal agency entirely. It’s time for those closest to students and families to be given the reins.
That’s why I couldn’t agree more with his nomination of Linda McMahon to oversee the department. Her business background, her previous experience as administrator of the Small Business Administration, and, most of all, her commitment to state and local control over education are exactly what’s needed today.
As a governor who has prioritized education, I’ve seen firsthand the creative, reforming energy that can be unleashed when steps are taken to make the system flexible and student-focused. But I’ve also seen the way the federal government often pulls in just the opposite direction.
One example is the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. It’s designed to provide funding to states and school districts, but the possible impact is diluted by the Education Department’s fragmented, confusing disbursement system, which is divided into nine separate programs, each with its own unique requirements as well as complex funding formulas and metrics — most of which are more focused on administrative compliance, not student performance.
The inefficiencies in this approach are everywhere. Not only does it force my team to waste unnecessary manpower on administrative tasks, but it also does the same to local school districts. Worse, the fractured, prescriptive funding streams inhibit innovation in state-level programs by splitting investments into small-dollar amounts that limit the impact they can have.
A Secretary McMahon could be trusted to explore different approaches. As a successful businesswoman, she has little patience for inefficiency. And as a former school board member, she understands that the time and resources devoted to jumping through bureaucratic hoops are more productively spent on students and teachers in the classroom.
With that goal in mind, the ESEA would function far better as a block grant, one with clear standards of accountability rooted in outcomes. This would give states the flexibility to deploy resources based on where they would make the greatest impact rather than where a distant federal bureaucrat dictates they go. The funding could then be invested, in amounts that matter, on scaling innovative state and local programs that are already working.
In Iowa, for example, we’re empowering parents, expanding educational freedom, and getting back to basics such as evidence-based literacy and math in every classroom.
Last year, we required schools to create personalized plans for students who aren’t reading proficiently at grade level and provided educators with cost-free instructional training grounded in the proven body of research known as the science of reading. This year, I’m proposing something similar in math so our students have a strong foundation in these essential skills for both school and life.
Iowa is also a national leader in preparing children for life after the classroom. Ninety percent of our school districts now offer some form of work-based learning, and we’ve prioritized registered apprenticeships that give students the opportunity to get started on a career while earning a paycheck.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT SPENT HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS INJECTING DEI INTO SCHOOL DISTRICTS
One hundred seventy-four Iowans have completed a first-of-its-kind teacher apprenticeship program, with 567 more currently in the pipeline. And we’ve taken a similar innovative approach to enhancing our healthcare workforce, deploying the high school apprenticeship model to recruit 374 active apprentices into various high-demand healthcare fields. We expect more than 900 to be enrolled by next year.
Simply put, we’re working to end business as usual in education, much like Trump is now doing in Washington. These programs, and many others like them both in Iowa and other well-run states across the country, demonstrate that the best ideas for reversing America’s education stagnation already exist in the states. It’s past time to foster and support those ideas, not stifle them. I’m confident Linda McMahon will do exactly that.
Kim Reynolds is the 43rd governor of Iowa.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
Author
