White House Reviews Plan to Scale Back Education Dept.

Alexander Grey, Unsplash

The debate over dissolving the U.S. Department of Education has intensified following renewed criticism from national teachers-union leadership. In a recent interview, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten claimed that President Trump’s push to dismantle the department is “illegal,” a claim reported by Fox News in coverage of the controversy. At the center of this national discussion is not only political disagreement but a deeper constitutional question: Who actually holds jurisdiction over education, the federal government or the states? 

According to constitutional scholars, state governments have long held primary authority over education because the Constitution does not delegate this power to the federal government. Under the Tenth Amendment, powers not granted to the federal government belong to the states. This historical structure is now colliding with modern expectations of federal oversight, reviving a significant debate over the proper role of Washington in American classrooms. 

A Constitutional Foundation Favoring the States 

Education is not listed anywhere in Article I, which means Congress was never granted an explicit power to regulate or administer schooling. Historically, this left responsibility to state governments, which created public school systems, set curriculum policies, determined graduation requirements, and oversaw teacher certification. The federal Department of Education, created in 1979, was added more than 190 years after the Constitution was written, and even then, its creation rested on legislative authority rather than constitutional mandate. 

This point has become central as momentum grows behind efforts to dismantle or scale back the department. Reporting from The Daily Wire notes that Trump’s proposal to dissolve or significantly downsize the Department of Education has continued gaining public and political traction, especially among voters who believe bureaucracy has hampered classroom performance. Constitutionally, the plan aligns with longstanding federalist principles: if the federal government does not have enumerated authority over education, the states retain that jurisdiction. 

Support for this shift appears broader than many analysts expected. A recent poll highlighted by the New York Post found that closing the Department of Education is “surprisingly popular once voters hear details,” suggesting that the public’s appetite for decentralizing education may be stronger than previously understood. The results indicate that restoring local authority aligns not only with constitutional principles but with a rising public desire for education reform. 

The question now facing policymakers is whether the federal role should remain as expansive as it has been or whether a return to state-based governance would better reflect constitutional boundaries. 

How a State-Led System Strengthens Parental Authority 

Supporters of reducing federal oversight argue that shifting control back to the states would have a direct and positive impact on families. In a decentralized model, parents are closer to the officials who determine what is taught, how classrooms function, and what educational standards look like. Local school boards, state legislatures, and community-driven organizations would regain the authority that has increasingly drifted toward Washington. 

This argument has become a significant part of the national conversation. Newsmax recently reported that Linda McMahon, now playing a leading role in the administration’s education restructuring efforts, has emphasized that dismantling the Department of Education would return power to local communities and create “more direct accountability” to families and voters. Supporters argue that when parents have increased visibility into decisions, educational outcomes improve because families play a more active role in shaping policy. 

In many cases, parents have expressed frustration with federal influence over curriculum standards, assessment requirements, and regulations they feel limit local autonomy. Removing or reducing federal layers would allow states to adapt their educational systems to meet local needs, cultural differences, and family expectations. Advocates believe this structure nurtures trust and collaboration between families and educators, fostering an environment where parents are genuine partners in their children’s academic development. 

Opponents worry about disparities between states, but supporters counter that states already hold constitutional authority and that local variation is a strength rather than a weakness. They argue that families benefit when decision-making is closer, more accountable, and more transparent. 

A National Debate Rooted in Federalism, Not Politics 

While rhetoric around dissolving the Department of Education often sounds political, the underlying dispute is fundamentally constitutional. The federal government assumed a broad role in education only in the last half-century, and even then, it largely operated through funding incentives rather than direct governance. For decades, many experts have questioned whether a federal education department is compatible with the Constitution’s design. 

Current polling and recent legislative developments suggest that Americans are increasingly open to reconsidering the federal government’s role in education. Surveys show that support for closing or restructuring the Department of Education rises when voters learn how responsibilities would shift to the states. At the same time, national debate has intensified as policymakers and education leaders respond to the growing push to return authority to state and local governments, highlighting a widening discussion about constitutional responsibility and the future of federal involvement in public schools. 

The next several months will determine whether these conversations result in structural change. If the department is ultimately dismantled or significantly reshaped, the states will once again assume full constitutional control over education, the very arrangement the framers anticipated. 

The movement to dissolve or decentralize the U.S. Department of Education is about far more than bureaucracy; it revisits a foundational constitutional question that has shaped American governance for more than two centuries. Education has always been primarily a state responsibility, and the federal government’s expanding role remains built on legislative interpretation rather than constitutional mandate. 

If this transition continues gaining support, it may mark a return to the federalist structure the Constitution prescribes, and a renewed era in which parents, not Washington, play the central role in shaping America’s classrooms. 

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