David Boze of the Washington Policy Center explains that we live in interest times

David Boze
Washington Policy Center

As expected, President Trump issued an executive order today to start the process of abolishing the Department of Education.  Prior to its publication, Washington’s senior United States Senator Patty Murray vowed the Department would not be gutted on her watch. 

Paradoxically, those supporting keeping the Department of Education are advocating to keep more power in the hands of the Trump Administration given it is his functionaries and cabinet official (Secretary of Education Linda McMahon) who oversee the department. Keeping the department means trusting Trump administration officials with dollars that might otherwise stay in the hands of Washingtonians, while dismantling it inevitably means keeping more dollars local and more decisions in the hands of Washington state elected officials. 

We live in interesting times.

Much of the concern over the possible elimination of the department is expressed as concern over the education of children. And while the federal Department of Education does not directly educate children, it’s a fair question to ask whether its creation has improved education outcomes. Fortunately, WPC’s Paul W. Locke Research Fellow for Education, Dr. Vicki Murray literally wrote the book (Failure: The Federal Misedukation of America’s Children) on the Department of Education’s track record. It details how the department failed to achieve the primary goals given for its existence.

I was able to catch up with Dr. Murray just prior to the release of the president’s executive order to talk about the Department of Education being on the chopping block.  We talked about her research on the department’s track record, what functions of the department were worth preserving (and where they should go), and what impact she expected a dismantling of the department to have on the educational success of the children of Washington state.  You can watch the video below. 

David Boze is the director of communications and strategy at the Washington Policy Center. 

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