As public schools continue in full swing, the recent government shutdown has highlighted the uselessness of the Department of Education, which has been closed for over a month.
Democrats must now pass the continuing resolution to reopen the government and allow the staff tasked with closing down the department to accelerate its removal.
IT’S TIME TO FINISH DISMANTLING THE DEPARTMENT OF THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
“Thankfully, because schools are run at the local level, the shutdown is not having an impact on the education of our children. That said, it’s sad that the employees leading the necessary effort to dismantle the Department of Education — and continue to perform the limited education-related duties of the federal government — are not being paid due to the latest political gamesmanship of the Democrats,” Senior Director of Federal Affairs for Parents Defending Education Action Alfonso Aguilar told the Washington Examiner.
“Millions of American students are still going to school, teachers are getting paid, and schools are operating as normal,” Secretary of Education Lisa McMahon wrote on X, which “confirms what the President has said: the federal Department of Education is unnecessary, and we should return education to the states.”
As Aguilar and McMahon noted, the Senate should swiftly pass the clean continuing resolution approved by the House in September so that the Education Department can finally be brought to an end.
There is simply no reason for education policy to be managed from Washington. The federal bureaucracy adds layers of waste and regulation to programs that were supposed to help children learn, while delivering no measurable improvement to the lives of students or teachers.
Nearly a month into the government shutdown, education has carried on without interruption. Schools remain open, enrollment is strong, and students across the nation have felt no impact from the absence of federal oversight.
Moreover, Democrats’ claim that the Department of Education is essential to protecting special education programs is flatly untrue.
As stated by the National Education Defense, “the shutdown doesn’t affect schools’ responsibility to students or students’ rights.” Federal laws have already established baseline rights for individuals with disabilities, including the services and support students receive in school.
Funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — the very reason the Department of Education created the Office of Special Education Programs — remains unaffected by the federal shutdown.
The office, designed to help states implement IDEA mandates, has proven largely redundant. States manage their special education systems effectively on their own, with little need for federal intervention.
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the federal government contributes only about 10% of the annual budget for special education programs.
Veteran educators further note that federal involvement often makes access harder, not easier. Excessive paperwork and long processing times delay services, leaving students with disabilities waiting for the support they deserve.
WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WORKERS LAYOFFS HAVE BEGUN
While the politically motivated government shutdown has left Americans in desperation, it has emphasized the waste created by the federal government, which goes against the government’s mission of serving the people.
The Senate must enact this clean continuing resolution and begin to serve the people.