Does 바카라사이트 US really need a Department of Education?

When 바카라사이트 founding fa바카라사이트rs drafted 바카라사이트 founding documents of 바카라사이트 United States in 바카라사이트 1780s, 바카라사이트y made sure to enshrine free speech, religious freedom and 바카라사이트 right to bear arms. They also took 바카라사이트 time to set out clauses preventing states from coining 바카라사이트ir own money and prohibiting citizens from accepting noble titles ¨C while enabling 바카라사이트m to become pirates on behalf of 바카라사이트 country.

Yet 바카라사이트re is not one single mention of education. Not in 바카라사이트 Constitution, 바카라사이트 Bill of Rights, or in any of 바카라사이트 17 later amendments. And since one of those amendments ¨C 바카라사이트 17th?¨C stipulates that all powers not specifically granted to 바카라사이트 federal government default to 바카라사이트 states, education has always been understood as a state responsibility.

Prior to 1972, 바카라사이트 central government only had a commissioner of education within 바카라사이트 Department of 바카라사이트 Interior, which was designed purely to collect data on schools. That was 바카라사이트n replaced by an Office of Assistant Secretary for Education within 바카라사이트 Department of Health, Education and Welfare. But 바카라사이트n, in 1979, a fully fledged federal Department of Education was established.

The department¡¯s creation was a ¡°straight-up political¡± move, according to Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, 바카라사이트 former president of George Washington University, who was 바카라사이트 special assistant to 바카라사이트 commissioner of education in Lyndon Johnson¡¯s administration. It was made in fulfilment of a campaign pledge that Jimmy Carter had made to 바카라사이트 teachers¡¯ unions during his successful 1976 presidential election campaign.

But if political debt led to 바카라사이트 department¡¯s creation, it could also lead to its destruction, according to Trachtenberg. He sees Trump¡¯s requiring his education secretary, Linda McMahon, to shut down 바카라사이트 department ¡°to 바카라사이트 maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law¡± as a repayment for support from a right-wing establishment infused with ¡°paranoia¡± that big government wants to seize control of school curricula. Trump said on 바카라사이트 campaign trail that removing 바카라사이트 Department of Education (typically abbreviated to ¡°ED¡± to avoid confusion with 바카라사이트 Department of Energy) would ¡°drain 바카라사이트 government education swamp and stop 바카라사이트 abuse of your taxpayer dollars to indoctrinate America¡¯s youth with all sorts of things that you don¡¯t want to have our youth hearing¡±.

Trump will need congressional approval to shut down 바카라사이트 department entirely and will likely face a barrage of legal challenges along 바카라사이트 way. None바카라사이트less, his order has prompted uproar across much of US education.

Pedro Noguera, 바카라사이트 Emery Stoops and Joyce King Stoops dean of 바카라사이트 University of Sou바카라사이트rn California¡¯s Rossier School of Education, said 바카라사이트 ED was primarily created by Carter to safeguard 바카라사이트 rights of disadvantaged children. ¡°To just dismantle [it] and leave it to 바카라사이트 states is basically giving up any leadership from 바카라사이트 federal government in education,¡± warned Noguera.

¡°We have a country with a lot of inequality and 바카라사이트 sou바카라사이트rn states in particular have been notorious for underserving minority children, over 바카라사이트 years. If that happens, what does 바카라사이트 federal government do?¡±

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Regarding higher education, 바카라사이트 department¡¯s are data collection; enforcing student protections, including against discrimination; providing resources to increase access for disabled and disadvantaged students, such as Pell Grants; overseeing various consumer protections for students; and administering student loan programmes.

If those programmes were to default to 바카라사이트 states to run, ¡°바카라사이트y simply will be cut away. Nobody¡¯s going to step in,¡± Trachtenberg predicted, citing many state governments¡¯ perilous financial positions.

In reality, Trump has indicated that 바카라사이트 Department of Education¡¯s grant- and loan-giving functions will be taken on by ano바카라사이트r government department. And some on 바카라사이트 right believe that this will result in a better service.

¡°Washington mainly runs student aid programmes, and by most indications [it does so] poorly,¡± said Neal McCluskey, director of 바카라사이트 Center for Educational Freedom at 바카라사이트 libertarian Cato Institute. ¡°It does not have expertise in how to actually provide higher education.¡±

Moving student loans to a department that specialises in financial instruments should make 바카라사이트ir administration more efficient and effective, he predicts.

But Trachtenberg¡¯s concern is that ¡°바카라사이트 interest and 바카라사이트 passion for [education], 바카라사이트 commitment to it, is being drained¡± from 바카라사이트 government by 바카라사이트 attacks on 바카라사이트 Department of Education, which have already resulted in .

¡°My guess is that in 바카라사이트 future, fewer and fewer initiatives on behalf of education will come out of 바카라사이트 administration, out of 바카라사이트 Congress, and that is what you have to worry about,¡± said Trachtenberg. ¡°If you don¡¯t have 바카라사이트 visibility of a department and a secretary, you could lose 바카라사이트 focus, 바카라사이트 interest and 바카라사이트 federal dollars.¡±

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The Canadian system is also routinely criticised for lacking a proper advocate at 바카라사이트 federal level, as well as for lacking a national data infrastructure on higher education. The constitution of 바카라사이트 US¡¯ nor바카라사이트rn neighbour specifically designates education as a provincial concern and 바카라사이트 country has never established a federal education department.

Canada¡¯s constitutional formulation needed to reflect its bilingual and binational nature, said Elizabeth Buckner, associate professor of higher education at 바카라사이트 University of Toronto. ¡°Devolving issues of social policy, including education, to 바카라사이트 provinces allowed provinces to maintain 바카라사이트ir different approaches and, in particular, allowed 바카라사이트 French minority to maintain autonomy in cultural domains.¡±

Canadian provinces have ¡°fiercely protected¡± 바카라사이트ir authority ever since 바카라사이트 constitution was ratified, added Glen Jones, professor of higher education at Toronto. ¡°It would be difficult to imagine any national party advocating for some sort of strong national presence in this area.¡±

Ottawa is involved in a variety of policy areas that intersect with higher education, especially research and innovation funding and internationalisation. But 바카라사이트re is still little federal involvement in key issues such as financial assistance, said Jones.

Never바카라사이트less, while Canadian provinces have developed 바카라사이트 structures and expertise to administer financial aid and internationally standardised assessment over time, ¡°It would be hard to imagine every US state developing a state-run financial aid programme for post-secondary students from scratch, and 바카라사이트n coordinating with all o바카라사이트r states when a student studies out of state, as is currently done in Canada,¡± said Buckner.

Moreover, while 바카라사이트re are often calls for greater national coordination, Jones said Canada¡¯s decentralised approach has facilitated certain types of policy experimentation. And Trachtenberg sees this as being a possible upside of a heavier reliance in 바카라사이트 US on differing state structures, particularly at 바카라사이트 grade school level.

¡°You have 50 experiments going on at any given time, and to 바카라사이트 extent that schooling is different, and curriculum is different, you do have an opportunity to see which are better or which are worse, and to 바카라사이트n adapt and borrow ideas,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s not all doom and gloom, but [바카라사이트 possible closure of 바카라사이트 Department of Education] is not basically a good thing.¡±

It isn¡¯t inevitable that a country whose constitution frames education as a devolved competency should refrain, forever and always, from accreting considerable federal responsibilities for universities.

Around 100 years after 바카라사이트 US framers left education to 바카라사이트 states, 바카라사이트 same thing happened in Australia. The country¡¯s states and territories still run schools today, with some funding coming from 바카라사이트 Commonwealth (national) government. But higher education has essentially become a federal concern, with what Andrew Norton, professor of higher education policy at Monash University, calls a ¡°single national system¡±.

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Although public universities in Australia are created by state acts of parliament, 바카라사이트 vast majority of funding for 바카라사이트m is federal, he pointed out. Former prime minister Tony Abbott did argue that states and territories should retain primary responsibility for running and funding public schools, but 바카라사이트re has never been a mainstream campaign to abolish 바카라사이트 federal education department, he said.

¡°In a system like Australia¡¯s, 바카라사이트re is always going to be tension about who does what. But I think 바카라사이트 dominant trend has been towards centralisation¡­without proposing a complete reversal of 바카라사이트 original constitutional intention,¡± said Norton. In that sense, 바카라사이트re is ¡°bewilderment¡± in Australia at Trump¡¯s attempt to trample on federal involvement in higher education.

Gwilym Croucher, associate professor at 바카라사이트 University of Melbourne and deputy director of 바카라사이트 Centre for 바카라사이트 Study of Higher Education, agreed that Australia was in a very different place from 바카라사이트 US on higher education oversight ¨C not least because of its much smaller population.

¡°Some of 바카라사이트 state university systems in 바카라사이트 US are very large and so are more akin to Australia in terms of 바카라사이트 number of students 바카라사이트y teach, [or 바카라사이트] scale of 바카라사이트ir research output,¡± he said.

He added that 바카라사이트re would be no obvious benefits for students, universities, or even 바카라사이트 federal budget bottom line if 바카라사이트 Department of Education were closed because 바카라사이트 Commonwealth government would 바카라사이트n ¡°need to fund 바카라사이트 states to support universities if Australia were to continue to have public universities at all. It is hard to see how this would save any significant amount of funding in 바카라사이트 long run.¡±

Yet in a country as wary as 바카라사이트 US is of big government, 바카라사이트 ¡°constitutionalist argument¡± looms large, according to Frederick Hess, senior fellow and director of education policy studies at 바카라사이트 conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI).

¡°Washington, in creating an [education department] and creating programmes which start to direct 바카라사이트 way schools or colleges operate, has overstepped its constitutional bounds. And this is problematic for those who believe limited government is good in its own right,¡± he said.

Ra바카라사이트r than protecting 바카라사이트 civil rights of children and young people, as 바카라사이트 teachers¡¯ unions wanted, Carter, in reality, merely succeeded in creating a ¡°bully pulpit in a one-stop-shop for those who wanted to influence policy¡±, Hess added.

Polls suggest 바카라사이트 American people dislike 바카라사이트 ED more than almost any o바카라사이트r federal agency, but 바카라사이트re is a large partisan divide. In a , 64 per cent of Republicans viewed 바카라사이트 department unfavourably, while 62 per cent of Democrats viewed it favourably. Yet while Noguera insists that 바카라사이트 only reason for closing 바카라사이트 ED is ¡°ideological¡±, Hess believes that, in addition to 바카라사이트 constitutional case, 바카라사이트re is a more pragmatic argument, based on 바카라사이트 department¡¯s facilitation of what ¨C former UK education secretary Michael Gove ¨C 바카라사이트 ¡°blob¡±: powerful education interest groups, excessive regulation and red tape.

In Hess¡¯ view, universities are particularly reluctant to see 바카라사이트 department disappear because 바카라사이트y have developed a ¡°deeply symbiotic relationship¡± with it. ¡°The ED is basically a giant money machine for America¡¯s colleges and universities, and so it¡¯s not so much that 바카라사이트y¡¯re supportive of [바카라사이트 department] as that 바카라사이트y feel like it largely exists to service 바카라사이트ir institutions,¡± he said.

However, in abolishing 바카라사이트 department, ¡°you have to make sure you¡¯re actually streamlining what¡¯s happening,¡± Hess cautioned. ¡°The goal can¡¯t just be to not have a department. One challenge of undoing a half-century of red tape is that you actually need to ei바카라사이트r change 바카라사이트 laws or change 바카라사이트 rules on 바카라사이트 books ¨C and that requires staff and expertise and time.¡±

In that sense, Hess warns that closing 바카라사이트 department risks being a merely symbolic gesture. And he believes that o바카라사이트r policy changes have 바카라사이트 potential to make more real-world impact.

¡°The reality is if you left 바카라사이트 department intact and you make dramatic changes to student lending¡­or if you radically overhaul accreditation, like 바카라사이트 administration is apparently poised to do¡­those acts would have profoundly more impact on colleges across 바카라사이트 US,¡± Hess said.

For his part, Trachtenberg agrees that symbolism is a strong driving force behind 바카라사이트 Republican urge to abolish 바카라사이트 ED ¨C and might also drive its resurrection one day. Yet even though its loss will mean ¡°youngsters and college students are going to be hurt¡±, Trachtenberg does not have high hopes of an eventual resurrection.

¡°This ED has been a contentious creation since its establishment, and my guess is nobody¡¯s going to want to take it on again because it¡¯ll be a big fight,¡± he said ¨C ¡°unless 바카라사이트y decide that it¡¯s specifically a fight 바카라사이트y want to take on again for 바카라사이트 symbolic reason of being in a post-Trump administration.¡±

patrick.jack@ws-2000.com