The Feds Should Take More Responsibility for Education (Opinion)

To the Editor:

In his February 25 essay, “Jeb Bush: Here’s How the Trump Administration Should Handle Ed. Policy,” the former Florida governor asserts that the Trump administration can limit the role of the federal government and shift power back to the states. He claims state and local policymakers can better understand and address the diverse needs of their students, schools, and communities. I disagree.

At the P-12 level, the federal government needs to take more responsibility for education, not less. The federal government currently provides less than 14 percent of total U.S. education funding, and the amount varies by state.

Beyond funding, curriculum standards, graduation requirements, school facility quality, student achievement, and more vary by state. But students do not just stay in one place; they may move from one state to another. They are U.S. students who all have the same basic need to learn math, reading, American and world history, science, and more of the same level and quality everywhere.

A model for federal policy can be found in special education. Before the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, special education varied across states, where some states excluded students with particular disabilities from public schools altogether. The federal government, through IDEA, has at least set some minimum standards that all states must follow. Maybe education policy can be reformed to reduce “layers of bureaucratic strings,” as Bush writes, but the federal government should be accountable for ensuring that all U.S. students receive a quality 21st century education.

Emily Dexter
Independent Education Writer & Researcher
Cambridge, Mass.