Multiple Republican presidential candidates made it clear at this week\u2019s debate that the Department of Education is in danger if they are elected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s shut down the head of the snake, the Department of Education,\u201d Vivek Ramaswamy said. \u201cTake that $80 billion, put it in the hands of parents across this country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conservatives see the department, which has more than 4,400 employees and in its current form dates back to 1979 after first being established in 1867, as a prime example of Washington\u2019s meddling in Americans\u2019 lives. The time has come to \u201cshut down the Federal Department of Education,\u201d former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But what would it mean to actually shutter the massive agency?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How could the department be eliminated?
Killing the Department of Education (DOE) would be easier said than done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conservatives have said since the creation of the department they want to get rid of it. From President Ronald Reagan and his Education secretary to President Trump and his own, Republicans have decried the department\u2019s existence but failed to abolish it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That is because the decision to do so is not only up to the president and would have to go through Congress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere would have to be some legislation to specifically outline this, but I do think it would need to have the support of the executive branch and, obviously, this is a Cabinet-level agency, so I think having the president \u2014 would have to take a leadership role and help to make sure that the proposal is carefully crafted,\u201d said Jonathan Butcher, the Will Skillman senior research fellow in education policy at The Heritage Foundation, which supports nixing the DOE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) proposed such legislation in 2021 and reintroduced it earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cUnelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., should not be in charge of our children\u2019s intellectual and moral development,\u201d Massie said two years ago. \u201cStates and local communities are best positioned to shape curricula that meet the needs of their students. Schools should be accountable. Parents have the right to choose the most appropriate educational opportunity for their children, including home school, public school or private school.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DOE did not respond to The Hill\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
DOE\u2019s duties would be absorbed by other federal agencies
DOE has an enormous number of responsibilities, including handling student loans, investigating complaints against schools and tracking education progress across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
None of the 2024 candidates during Wednesday\u2019s debate detailed how they would handle eliminating it, but conservatives have longed to see many of its tasks either completely eliminated or absorbed into other departments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFor example, the Office of Civil Rights at the Department of Education. I think that any duplicate responsibilities that it shares with the Department of Justice should be eliminated, and then the rest of that office should go to the Department of Justice,\u201d Butcher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On student loans, Butcher says the elimination could lead to the federal government getting \u201cout of the business of awarding student loans, and then for what remains it would be moved to the Department of the Treasury.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even after ridding themselves of DOE, the GOP candidates indicated they would still focus on implementing national education policies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ll also shut down the Federal Department of Education. And when I was governor, we doubled the size of the largest school choice program in America, and we\u2019ll give school choice to every family in America when I\u2019m in the White House,\u201d Pence said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his opening remarks for his confirmation hearing, current Education Secretary Miguel Cardona embraced the various challenges he would have to take on as the head of the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI look forward to sitting at the table with the vast, diverse community of people who have a stake in education: students, parents, teachers, caregivers, advocates and state, local and tribal leaders and the dedicated career staff at the department,\u201d Cardona said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Would the move save money?
Conservatives argue that eliminating the Education Department would cut costs and bureaucratic red tape for states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere\u2019ll be considerable savings, both in terms of salaries as well as other expenditures for programs that may not even be effective,\u201d Butcher said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a report from The Heritage Foundation back in 2020, the group estimated billions would be saved if DOE was abolished. The report says eliminating the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services would save $4 billion over time, while taking away the Office of Postsecondary Education would cut $2.1 billion<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those against getting rid of DOE have said the difficulty with closing the department and delegating tasks elsewhere would be a bureaucratic nightmare and actually raise costs on taxpayers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some have taken it a step further, saying the idea of getting rid of the department is \u201cracist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlthough the effort to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education is grounded in the backdrop of a cultural war, this effort is also a direct affront to civil rights,\u201d said Luke Wood, who at the time was a professor of education at San Diego State University, in an op-ed for The San Diego Union-Tribune when Massie reintroduced his legislation earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n