Government-School Bureaucrats and Social Engineers Won’t Like This Executive Order Trump Just Signed

Education bureaucrats and other social engineers who love Big Government won’t like what the Trump administration wants to do.

Many conservatives believe the federal government is too involved with the compulsory K-12 education system, a function of state governments and funded by residents.

Federal government’s role in state schools is supposed to be limited, but its role has grown, just like the bloated federal government in general.

Local governments are “on the ground” and better suited to judge what works and what doesn’t without interference from politicians and political appointees in the nation’s capital.

With a Republican in the White House striving to keep his promises to the people who put him in office, that’s about to change for the better.

President Donald Trump just signed an executive order to begin shrinking the federal government’s role in state and local government education. From the Washington Times (emphases added):

The order, dubbed the “Education Federalism Executive Order,” will launch a 300-day review of Obama-era regulations and guidance for school districts and directs Education Secretary Betsy DeVos to modify or repeal measures she deems an overreach by the federal government.

“For too long the government has imposed its will on state and local governments. The result has been education that spends more and achieves far, far, far less,” Mr. Trump said. “My administration has been working to reverse this federal power grab and give power back to families, cities [and] states — give power back to localities.”

He said that previous administrations had increasingly forced schools to comply with “whims and dictates” from Washington, but his administration would break the trend.

“We know local communities know it best and do it best,” said Mr. Trump, who was joined by several Republican governors for the signing. “The time has come to empower teachers and parents to make the decisions that help their students achieve success.”

One Obama measure that should be reviewed is the “Dear Colleague” letter-policy the former administration issued to government schools advising them to reduce the number of minority students — black boys, in particular — suspended or expelled. They’re disproportionately disciplined, likely because they disproportionately behave in discipline-worthy behavior. But liberals attribute the disparity to racial discrimination.

The students’ behavior hasn’t changed, but teachers have to deal with even more disruptive students who take attention away from those who know how to behave. Hopefully, the president’s executive action will help teachers and the well-behaved students who want to learn rather than expending time and resources on those who cause trouble.

Photo credit: San Mateo (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved