US Senate takes up bill to abolish Department of Education

On November 21, Republican Senator Mike Rounds (South Dakota) introduced a bill to abolish the US Department of Education, officially promoting a plan supported by President-elect Donald Trump.

US Department of Education headquarters in Maryland

Photo: taken from edweek

USA Today quoted a statement from Senator Mike Rounds' office about submitting the bill to the US Senate. Accordingly, Mr. Rounds believes that education should be under the management of local school districts and Departments of Education in the states, not the Department of Education of the federal government.

The Reclaiming Education Control to the States bill proposes reallocating the work of the Department of Education to other Washington government agencies.

The bill was introduced after Donald Trump, during his election campaign, declared that he wanted to close the Department of Education if he successfully returned to the White House.

“We want to abolish the federal Department of Education,” Mr. Trump publicly expressed his views in October.

In a new statement from Mr. Rounds' office, the senator said he has been working for years to eliminate the Department of Education.

Before taking office, Mr. Trump faces the risk of being opposed by many states

The U.S. Department of Education was created in 1979 and began operations a year later. Today, it has many functions and pours billions of dollars into low-income public schools nationwide and provides billions more to Americans paying for college tuition each year.

Dissolving a department in the next congressional and White House term would require the support of Democratic senators who oppose the idea.

Some Republicans on Capitol Hill also argued that the Education Department should remain in place, given its role in advancing President-elect Donald Trump's political agenda after he takes office in early 2025.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/thuong-vien-my-tiep-nhan-du-luat-de-nghi-xoa-so-bo-giao-duc-185241122084958654.htm