The Dept. of Education does have a legitimate purpose, as the federal government has full authority and responsibility over education in D.C., the Territories, Possessions and enclaves, on Indian Reservations, and military bases where millions of U.S. citizens are educated. It does not however have any legitimate authority over education in the several states, as the states reserved that authority entirely to themselves in our Constitution.
Through inducements and constitutional end-runs, the federal Agency has crept into having far too much influence and de facto power over education within the several states., and education in the states has suffered and deteriorated as a result.
The following are specific proposals that would work to restore federalism and free the states to again use their prerogatives to seek better education results for their citizens while being more directly accountable and responsive to the Will of the People.
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Abolish any and all federal Grants-in-Aid programs to the several states that require the adoption/rubber-stamping of federally-promulgated model legislation. Insofar as Compulsory/K-12 education within the several states is concerned the role of the Dept. of Education shall be limited to what may be achieved through direct legislation and regulation only, and nothing beyond than that shall exist or be pursued by the Dept. of Education through the use of private/voluntary contracts, positive or negative inducements, or the operation of other federal Law and the legitimate purviews of other federal Agencies that may or may not exercise such powers under their own authorities.
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All Rules and Regulations promulgated by the Dept. of Education shall be made in direct keeping with the Constitution, and all controversies that arise between it and the several states or individual Citizens within the several states shall be at all times subject to Strict Scrutiny.
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Prohibit all direct relationships between the federal government and local education agencies (LEA’s) within the several states. * Exception for Impact Aid payments for federal children attending local schools within the states, provided that no federal oversight, regulation, or input accompanies any of that.
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Clearly separate and compartmentalize all Policy and Regulatory promulgation by the Dept. of Education within its spheres of de jure/plenary federal jurisdiction from Policy and Regulatory promulgation, if any, that applies towards the several states, so there can be no confusion or conflation. This should also include any Guidelines, Recommendations, Best practices and so on. Divide the Dept. into two distinct entities if necessary.
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Limit all involvement of the Dept. of Education with the several states to the scope of federalism and what is clearly within the national interests and purview, including all Programs, Grants, allocations, and so on, to what is directly related and consequent to the subject of education - In the K-12, these limits on involvement should also not go beyond or surpass what lays squarely within the parameters of Compulsory attendance under the legitimate core Ministerial Powers and functions of the several states themselves.
Where those broader national interests are identified and established, all federal assistance and involvement must also extend, without preference or discrimination, to the private and parochial institutions as well as the home schooled in every state that allows such to exist and operate, saving that there too the Dept. of Education shall be likewise prohibited from contracting beyond the scope of its legitimacy and shall be bound to the same limits of authority and prerogative as it holds in relation to the several states. -
Re-designate the primary focus of the Dept. of Education as it relates to the several states as one of data gathering, statistical and comparative analysis of educational results (limited to the specific subject matter that the federal government is legitimately concerned with involving public education) and the facilitation of sharing of data and resources between the several states. All of which should be offered and made available without discretion or discrimination to private & parochial schools and the home schooled.
In addition to the foregoing, there are other recommendations that merit consideration, including but not limited to the following:
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With the duties and responsibilities of Citizenship being one of the primary objects and functions of public education, the subject of Law should be added to the core curriculum. Any person graduating from Compulsory/K-12 education and receiving a High school diploma should at bare minimum possess a knowledge and understanding of the law equal to what they are expected and presumed to know upon reaching the age of majority. Law is the very language with which government speaks, the method and authority by which it operates, and thus no other entity is as qualified or should be as motivated to teach it properly. Our legal history is our American History - our Law is our birthright. its logic and reasoning the basis and the bulwark of our constitutional system, it undergirds our entire civil and economic life. Ignorance of the law is not only inexcusable, but it leaves every person in that condition vulnerable and at a palpable disadvantage in myriad ways. Unlike literally every other discipline currently being taught in the public schools, Law is the only subject that every citizen has a duty to know, and its ongoing absence in the core curriculum is entirely unacceptable.
To the extent that it may do so in light of the aforementioned, the Dept. of Education should encourage and facilitate the development and adoption of a legal curriculum within the K-12 schools of the several states. -
Education being a primary concern and a major issue, the role of the federal Dept. of Education should not be limited to institutions but also be of service to the general public directly for the purpose of furthering individual education and the diffusion of knowledge and expertise amongst the American citizenry. The Dept. should endeavor to become a source of general and technical knowledge available to everyone. Taking full advantage of information technology, it should serve as a free and unfettered gateway into all libraries and archives, including all academic, scholarly, historical, legal, literary, and scientific works either in the public domain or that should be made available or acceptably used for educational purposes, and it should be maintained with legal mandate and full public confidence that the contents of archival & historical materials are free from all subsequent censorship and revision.
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Whereas free thinking and open discourse are central, and vital, to our society and our governmental system, there are nevertheless some aspects of the nature of our institutions that must be observed, and some necessary limits on what sorts of societal agendas that government and its agents may or may not legitimately pursue and promote over other ways forward. Obviously, it is not within the legitimate scope of authority for any Agency or its operatives to pursue or foster any program that, for some examples, including but not limited to; Undermines the national Sovereignty of these United States or the reserved sovereignty of the states; Diminishes the full Rights and personal prerogatives of her Citizens; Enlarges the size and scope of government beyond constitutional limits or that upsets the necessary Balance of Power not only within the federal government but also between the central government, the states, and the People themselves; Substitutes or reduces full Citizenship in the several states with any lesser form(s) of citizenship, or any type of supra-national citizenship; That overtly promotes or directly benefits one political Party/faction over another (excepting where such Party seeks to undermine or negate the aforementioned); Peddle false/misinformation and propaganda; Seek to engineer society and influence societal development in any way against the Will of the People of the several states and/or without their full knowledge and informed consent.
The Dept. of Education should vet and train its employees extensively and in an ongoing fashion to uphold the foregoing and be fully accountable for compliance with both the letter and spirit of its limitations. It should have a specific legal binding Duty to not spend or commit any public funds or resources on anything that goes against those guiding principles.