Two recent news stories strike me as predominantly positive about living in America. The first one is about a mother being jailed for lying about her true residence just so she can send her kids to a better school in a better school district. I personally know of another local family who did this for almost three years. The second one is about the arguments in support of opening up more charter schools, where opponents must come up with reliable and compelling reasons why it is not a good idea... At first glance you will say that these two news stories are negative, maybe yes, by virtue of the actions, but by virtue of the outcome and the intent and the results coming from such stories these are actually positive reasoning.
By wanting to send our kids to a better public school is a positive thing. By wanting to set up more charter schools is also a positive thing. Actually the news stories are exactly interrelated though they did not happen in the same locale. How many parents out there are or have been dreaming of "choices"? as far as where to send their kids to school without having to change residence and without being forced to pay high tuition in private schools? How many parents are just plainly tired of the public school system for a lot of reasons? How many parents have opted to home-school their kids because of their distrust of public schools?
DID YOU KNOW?
The primary functions of the Department of Education are to formulate and administer federal funding programs involving education, such as college financial aid, collect data on US schools, and to enforce federal educational laws regarding privacy and civil rights.[3][4]
The Department's mission is: to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.[5]Unlike the systems of most other countries, education in the United States is highly decentralized, and the federal government and Department of Education are not heavily involved in determining curricula or educational standards (with the recent exception of the No Child Left Behind Act). This has been left to state and local school districts. The quality of educational institutions and their degrees is maintained through an informal private process known as accreditation, over which the Department of Education has no direct public jurisdictional control.
President Ronald Reagan promised during the 1980 presidential election to eliminate the Department of Education as a cabinet post,[6] but he was not able to do so with a Democratic House of Representatives. In the 1982 State of the Union Address, he pledged:
| “ | The budget plan I submit to you on Feb. 8 will realize major savings by dismantling the Department of Education.[7] | ” |
Throughout the 1980s, the abolition of the Department of Education was a part of the Republican Party platform, but the administration of President George H. W. Bush declined to implement this idea.
In 1996, the Republican Party made abolition of the Department a cornerstone of their campaign promises, calling it an inappropriate federal intrusion into local, state, and family affairs.[7] The GOP platform read:
| “ | The Federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the market place. This is why we will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning.[7][8] | ” |
During his 1996 presidential run, Senator Bob Dole promised, "We're going to cut out the Department of Education."[8]
In 2000, the Republican Liberty Caucus passed a resolution to abolish the Department of Education.[9]
Abolition of the organization was not pursued under the George W. Bush administration, which made reform of federal education a key priority of the President's first term. In 2008, presidential candidate Ron Paul campaigned in part on an opposition to the Department.[10]
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