THINK
TANK An Occasional Series
Fixing America’s
Broken Schools Abolishing the U.S. Dept. of Education will take time. Here are 6 solutions to implement immediately.
by lisa schiffren
THE ISSUE: AMERICAN EDUCATION, BOTH K THROUGH 12 AND HIGHER ED, IS BROKEN.
K
-12: Reading and math scores are down significant- ly, according to the Nation’s Report Card, published by
the National Assessment of Education- al Progress (NAEP). They cratered to a historic low after
the year of remote learning that was COVID-19 and never recovered, despite Congress spending $170 billion to add things like tutoring. This lag will affect how well students
learn higher-order subjects in upper grades and college. Under the Biden administration, ideological indoctrination skyrocketed. Critical race theory (CRT) dominates how history and civics are taught, so America is presented as an evil, racist nation from the beginning. Radical transgender ideologues
teach impressionable young children that their sex at birth is not set, and they can change it if they want. Some children are tempted. In some states parents who don’t go along with drugs and surgeries lose custody. Higher Ed: Many public universities
have used federal money to staff facul- ties and administrations with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) candidates,
32 NEWSMAX | FEBRUARY 2025
creating a toxic, Marxist culture that is inescapable. They famously set up “snitch” pan-
els so that some students report teach- ers and fellow students who veer from “acceptable” speech. Since Oct. 7, 2023, we’ve seen radi-
cal antisemitism on many campuses, especially elite ones. This is partly a spin-off of DEI in the curriculum, and partly the doing of radical students who are pro-Hamas terrorism, many here on foreign visas. The Biden administration changed
the meaning of long-established Title IX of the 1972 Civil Rights law from pro- tecting women in academics and sports, now ensuring that men who claim to be women can compete on women’s teams and have access to women’s facilities.
THE SOLUTION: ABOLISH THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION.
S
ince it doesn’t fix problems, and has been used to foment and exacerbate them, getting rid of the U.S. Department of
Education is a popular idea with Presi- dent Donald Trump and Republicans. But it’s easier said than done. “It takes a law to get rid of a cabinet department,” explains Frederick Hess, head of education research for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). “You need 60 votes in the Senate to do that. At most, Trump has 53. Demo- crats won’t join in.” Even if it did happen, many, if not
most of the department’s programs would likely end up being adminis- tered by other departments. Hess describes the 4,400-employ-
ee department as “a large bank hold- ing company with a junior varsity policy shop.” If it were disbanded, the Education Department’s biggest program — its federal student loan program, which holds about a trillion dollars in stu- dent loans — would likely be admin- istered by the Treasury Department. The same could be done with Pell Grants for college students from low- income families. All the policy experts Newsmax
spoke with thought that would be a significant improvement. This is especially appealing after
the past year’s disaster with the rollout of what was supposed to be an easier,
Critical race theory dominates how history and civics are taught, so America is presented as an evil, racist nation from the beginning.
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