Throughout this week, the Washington Examiner’s Restoring America project will feature its latest series, “Reforming the Deep State: Reining in the Federal Bureaucracy.” We invited some of the best policy minds in the conservative movement to speak to the issues of what waste, fraud, abuse, and unaccountability exist throughout the federal government and what still needs to be done. To read more from this series, click here.
The Department of Education has operated as a costly experiment in federal overreach for too long —expanding bureaucratic layers, weakening local control, and spending billions without improving academic outcomes.
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The department was intended to ensure access to equal educational opportunity for all students, supplement educational efforts at the state level, and serve as a research organization to provide guidance and best practices to policymakers. Instead, it has created red tape, enforced radical ideologies through one-size-fits-all mandates, and drained critical resources from classrooms with bloated administrative processes and procedures.
It’s time for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to finish the job and dismantle what’s left of the U.S. Department of Education.
The Nation’s 2025 Report Card demonstrates why dramatic change is needed. Reading scores fell two points this past year, keeping in line with the trend of long-term decline in scores. Less than one-third of students read at the NAEP’s “proficient” level, while almost 40% score below “basic.” In math, eighth-grade performance remains stagnant. More concerningly, the achievement gap continues to widen. Reports show that only 26% of eighth-graders are proficient in math, down from 34% in 2019 —an 8% decrease in six short years.
STOP THE EXPLOITATION OF STUDENT DATA FOR POLITICS
At the same time, administrative spending and hiring have surged. Administrative and non-teaching staff have increased a staggering 702% since 1950, completely out of step with the 96% rise in the number of students. In Washington state, administrative roles have ballooned while teacher hiring lags. In Oklahoma, administrative spending has outpaced classroom budgets. Tennessee shows a similar pattern, with more dollars flowing into overhead spending than into the classrooms. Sadly, many of these unnecessary state administrators do nothing more than ensure compliance with overly burdensome federal regulations. If increased administrative spending truly benefited students, we’d see higher test scores — but we don’t.
In order to reduce federal mandates, improve educational outcomes, and give more local control, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to dismantle the Department of Education in March. He then tasked McMahon with possibly the toughest fight in America: dismantling the entrenched education cartel.
Within days of her confirmation, McMahon launched the largest reduction of force in the department’s history. On March 11, roughly 1,315 employees were fired, in addition to nearly 600 who took voluntary severance, and the dozens of probationary staff dismissed — making the total reduction over 1,900 jobs. In one fell swoop, she slashed the workforce at the department from 4,133 to 2,183. Then she won a legal battle when the Supreme Court ruled her cuts legal in McMahon v. New York. This massive wave of layoffs with no negative effect on children highlights how unnecessary many of these federal-level education positions truly were. It shows McMahon’s commitment to the mission to eliminate bloat and make the American education system function properly again.
McMahon’s layoffs were the “first step toward eliminating the agency.” As she said, “[President Trump] wants me to fire myself.” She has reaffirmed that the Education Department should cease to exist in its current, bloated form and that power over education should be returned to the states.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE ‘REFORMING THE DEEP STATE’ SERIES
There has been incredible progress, but the fight is far from over. The path forward is clear: complete the dismantling, return control to parents, teachers, and states, and reserve the federal role for minimal, essential functions as it was intended.
The future of education does not lie in a centralized Washington, D.C., bureaucracy. It lies in empowered local communities and families. It’s time to fully dismantle this oversized federal apparatus and finish the job. The future of our children depends on it.
Erika Donalds serves as chairwoman for Education Opportunity and chairwoman of the Florida state chapter at the America First Policy Institute.