Education Department Doing ‘Testing’ by Transferring Programs to Other Agencies

Watch the video, McMahon says Education Department doing "testing" by transferring programs to other agencies, from CBS News.

Discussion Questions

1. Are you surprised that the current leader of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), Linda McMahon, is advocating for a “dismantling” of the agency? Does this seem incongruous? Explain your response.
   
   This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. 
   
   Your author is surprised by this effort, and it does seem incongruous with the mission and purpose of the U.S. Department of Education. As far as your author knows, such a move by a federal administrative head is unprecedented.
   
   According to its website (https://www.ed.gov/about/ed-overview/mission-of-the-us-department-of-education):
   
   “ED’s mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.
   
   Congress established the U.S. Department of Education on May 4, 1980, in the Department of Education Organization Act (Public Law 96-88 of October 1979). Under this law, ED’s mission is to:
   
   • Strengthen the federal commitment to assuring access to equal educational opportunity for every individual;
   • Supplement and complement the efforts of states, the local school systems and other instrumentalities of the states, the private sector, public and private nonprofit educational research institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to improve the quality of education;
   • Encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in federal education programs;
   • Promote improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information;
   • Improve the coordination of federal education programs;
   • Improve the management of federal education activities; and Increase the accountability of federal education programs to the president, the Congress, and the public.”
   
   In your author’s opinion, it would be far less efficient and less effective to “outsource” these responsibilities to other federal administrative agencies and the states, as opposed to keeping them within the “umbrella” of the U.S. Department of Education.
   
   
2. As indicated in the article, Secretary McMahon’s current efforts are geared toward transferring much of the U.S. Department of Education’s responsibilities to the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In your opinion, is this rational? Why or why not?
   
   This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. 
   
   As indicated in response to Video 1, Discussion Question Number 1 above, other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, do not specialize in education. 
   
   In your author’s opinion, such delegation of powers would likely be less efficient and effective compared to the authority being within the “umbrella” of the U.S. Department of Education.
   
   
3. As indicated in the video, the Trump administration seeks to delegate the bulk of education matters to the individual states. In your reasoned opinion, is this advisable? Why or why not? If delegation of education responsibilities to the states makes sense, then why not “drill deeper” and delegate to individual school districts?
   
   This is an opinion question, so student responses may vary. As indicated in response to Video 1, Discussion Question Number 1 above, certain states may not define “student achievement,” “preparation for global competitiveness,” “educational excellence,” and/or “equal access” in ways that promulgate the U.S. Department of Education’s mission. 
   
   In your author’s opinion, such delegation of powers would translate into a virtual “patchwork quilt” of educational outcomes in the United States, depending upon how much each individual state is willing to commit to education and “put their money where their mouth is” in terms of financial support.
   
   For similar reasons, your author would oppose delegating responsibilities currently within the realm of the U.S. Department of Education to individual school districts.