Republican senators introduced the “Returning Education to Our States Act” on Wednesday morning after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to close the U.S. Department of Education in late March.
The bill, led by Senator Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota and cosponsored by Senators Jim Banks, R-Indiana, and Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, would redirect portions of the Department to other federal agencies such as the Departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor, Defense, Justice, and State.
“The Department of Education was created to collect education data and advise state and local organizations on best practices,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, told Fox News Digital. “Since then, it has grown into an oversized bureaucracy that dictates one-size-fits-all policies, standards and practices for students across the nation.”
“This has been a priority of mine for years, and it’s one that President Trump shares.”
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The introduction comes amid widespread support among Republicans to eliminate the agency, including the current sitting Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, who detailed her “vision for eliminating the Department of Education” in a Fox News op-ed.
McMahon and Rounds recently held a meeting where the “Returning Education to Our States Act” was discussed.
In addition to eliminating the agency, the legislation would also make key changes to education compliance requirements, making it so that schools would no longer be required to administer standardized tests to identify struggling schools (CSI and TSI). The bill would also allow schools more autonomy to set teacher certification standards and professional development plans.
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The executive order issued by President Donald Trump in late March directs the department to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities,” but it takes an act of Congress to formally abolish the department.
Co-sponsors of the bill say that this piece of legislation will be the bill that ultimately serves that purpose.
“While the average Dept of Ed bureaucrat makes twice as much as a teacher in Indiana, our national test scores are near historic lows. That money should be sent back to the states to empower parents, teachers, and local leaders,” Sen. Jim Banks. R-Indiana told Fox News Digital. “Congress has a golden opportunity to codify President Trump’s executive actions. This bill does that. It’s a win for American education.”
Fox News Digital also spoke with Montana Senator Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, who weighed in, saying, “We spend more on education than at any point in history, but test scores are declining because those dollars are being squandered by a bloated federal bureaucracy. Closing the DOE will not cut off funds from students who depend on them, but it will eliminate layers of red tape in Washington, D.C. and ensure taxpayer money for education is better spent at the local level, where the dollars support kids, families, and hardworking teachers.”
The Republican-led bill could potentially accompany President Donald Trump’s executive order and campaign promise to reshape the American education system as it heads to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for debate.
