NELSON And RUCKER: States Are Chomping At The Bit To Overhaul America’s Broken Education System

President Donald Trump’s bold plan to eliminate the Department of Education bureaucracy and return education policy to the states represents a long-overdue correction that will empower parents, educators, and local communities to shape the future of learning in America.

For decades, America’s education system has been shackled by federal bureaucracy and inefficiencies. The U.S. Department of Education, created in 1979, has expanded its authority far beyond its original intent, imposing top-down mandates that stifle innovation and burden schools with unnecessary red tape.

Education is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. What works for one student may not work for another.

This is why, despite the Department of Education’s presence and spending for several decades, fourth- and eighth-grade reading scores have managed to fall since the Department started tracking them in the early 1990s. By dissolving the Department, we return control to those who know best and are directly invested in students’ success — the parents, teachers, and state and local policymakers.

State-driven education reform has already demonstrated remarkable results.

For example, West Virginia’s Hope Scholarship Program, launched in 2022 as the nation’s first universal education freedom program, is expected to be utilized by 60,000 students during the 2026-2027 school year. Other great examples include Florida’s Family Empowerment Scholarship Program, which now has over 220,000 students participating, and Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Program, which now benefits more than 83,000 students.

The success of these programs has earned each of these states a top 10 ranking in the American Legislative Exchange Council’s 2025 Index of State Education Freedom.