I will be introducing a resolution to urge Congressional support for legislation that would decentralize educational authority from the U.S. Department of Education to state governments.

The Tenth Amendment clearly establishes that powers not explicitly delegated to the federal government are reserved for the states. Education is notably absent from the enumerated powers in the Constitution, indicating the founders' intent for education to remain under state and local jurisdiction. The Department of Education's establishment in 1979 represented a significant departure from this constitutional framework.

Despite substantial federal investment—a $60 billion annual budget supplemented by $276 billion in COVID-19 recovery funding—national academic performance metrics remain stagnant.  Fourth and eighth-grade reading scores have shown negligible improvement since measurement began in the early 1990s, indicating poor return on taxpayer investment. Shifting resources and decision-making authority to the states would promote more efficient allocation of educational funding.

States and local communities possess invaluable context-specific knowledge that enables them to:

• Design curriculum frameworks responsive to regional economic needs.
• Implement educational approaches aligned with community values.
• Adjust policies based on direct observation of outcomes.

Please join me in urging Congress to support legislation that would systematically transfer educational authority from the U.S. Department of Education to state governments.