federal spending

Roughly $800 billion is spent annually on K-12 education, yet the National Assessment of Educational Progress results indicate that, on average, seven out of 10 public school students score below grade-level proficiency in reading and math. As I wrote in my article last month in The Daily Wire, when it comes to the pitiful student learning results in education, “The missing ingredient is not money — it’s meaningful choice.” Parents have been trapped by the government-run, teacher-union controlled K-12 public education monopoly. While federal spending accounts for only roughly 10% of overall education spending, it controls perhaps 90% of the rules and regulations. This federal bureaucracy significantly hinders the ability of states to innovate. Thankfully, for parents and the American Read More ›

The U.S. Department of Education has spent more than $3 trillion since 1980, with little to show for it. Reading and math scores have barely budged, achievement gaps remain, and too many families are trapped in a system that fails their children. On March 20, 2025, President Trump took decisive action by signing an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to dismantle the department and return authority to the states. A year later, the results are striking. The department has overhauled operations — cutting nearly half its staff, reducing administrative layers, and consolidating offices. Grants have been streamlined, programs merged, reporting reduced, and oversight of the $1.6 trillion student-loan portfolio shifted to a more capable agency. Critics predicted chaos. Read More ›