United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education, or ED for short, is a US Cabinet-level department. Over the 31 years since it's creation by liberal failure President Jimmy Carter, the ED has systematically and unconstitutionally intruded on the freedom of the States, promoted liberal-style 'multiculturalism' and racist affirmative action programs, discriminated against Christians working in local schools and promoted the secular, atheist ideology which is one of the main factors behind the decline of educational standards in both primary and secondary education. The current Secretary of Education is Chicago thug Arne Duncan.
The predecessor of the Department of Education was the U.S. Bureau of Education, established in 1867.
The mission of the Department of Education, as described on its website, is "to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access. It engages in four major types of activities:
-Establishes policies related to federal education funding, administers distribution of funds and monitors their use.
-Collects data and oversees research on America's schools.
-Identifies major issues in education and focuses national attention on them.
-Enforces federal laws prohibiting discrimination in programs that receive federal funds."
Conservative critics allege that not only is the mission of the ED unconstitutional, but a waste of the $64 billion the Department spends every year (since local schools and state voters are not only Constitutionally allowed, but in fact better suited, to make decisions regarding their own children's education).
The federal role in education is a violation of the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution which states, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Nowhere in the Constitution is the federal government delegated the power to regulate or fund elementary or secondary education. In general, the existence of the Department of Education is indicative of the growing size of government, far beyond what the Founding Fathers intended for the Executive Branch. However, several conservative critics have pointed out that the ED is even more illegal (and unnecessary) than many of the other Executive branches, since unlike regulating transportation (Department of Transportation) or the environment (Environmental Protection Agency), grade school education is not typically commercial or interstate commerce.
The Home School Legal Defense Foundation, in particular, has done research on the toxic effect the ED has had on public school achievement. The Foundation found that since the Department of Education was created, per-pupil spending has nearly doubled, while SAT scores have dropped by 35 points, a third more college freshmen require remedial classes, and literacy rates have dropped by more than 6%.
2) Specific Issues
a) Anti-Christian Bias b) 'Multiculturalism' c) Affirmative Action
When the Department of Education was founded in 1979 liberal supporters pledged that the Department would be relatively small, with a budget of less than $15 billion and only 100 employees. Today, however, the ED enjoys a budget of $63.7 and employs nearly 6,000 people. The education spending rate since the department’s founding has risen six times as fast as non-defense discretionary programs (59% versus 8%).
a) Shotgun Buy b) Obama Speech
“We will be minimizing the roles of local and State education officials; we should recognize that the States are responsible for the education policies of the children in the is country.” Representative Shirley Chisholm (D-NY)
Since the Reagan campaign in 1980, conservatives have proposed numerous policy changes to address the flaws with the American education system. Most involve giving responsibility for education back to the states—the only entity with Constitutional power to legislate on the issue and abolishing the Department of Education. Unfortunately, like Reagan's pledge to dismantle the Department of Education, liberals in the House of Representatives have been able to block these attempts to enforce the Constitution.
The 1996 GOP Presidential Platform contained the lines: Our formula is as simple as it is sweeping: The federal government has no constitutional authority to be involved in school curricula or to control jobs in the workplace. That is why we will abolish the Department of Education, end federal meddling in our schools, and promote family choice at all levels of learning.
We therefore call for prompt repeal of the Goals 2000 program and the School-To-Work Act of 1994, which put new federal controls, as well as unfunded mandates, on the States. We further urge that federal attempts to impose outcome or performance-based education on local schools be ended.