U.S. Department of Education

Last week, the White House convened an education roundtable with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon titled, “Biased Professors, Woke Administrators, and the End of Free Inquiry on U.S. Campuses.” Secretary McMahon opened the event by stating, “It was an honor to be at the White House today with this dedicated coalition of students, faculty, institutional leaders, and policy advocates to highlight the issue of woke ideology and the capture of our institutions of higher education. DEI policies have turned universities from free marketplaces of ideas to purveyors of manufactured ideological conformity, chilling free speech and undermining academic rigor.” She explained, “We are committed to working with higher education leaders to reverse course from these decades of decline.” The Secretary Read More ›

Marking her sixth invitation to the White House this year, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow and American Center for Transforming Education Director Keri D. Ingraham attended an education roundtable on December 3. The roundtable discussion, led by U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, was titled “Biased Professors, Woke Administrators, and the End of Free Inquiry on U.S. Campuses.” This was the second of a three-part higher education roundtable series. The first roundtable discussion, held in November, was titled “Administrative Bloat and Low-Value Programs: How U.S. Universities are Failing American Families and How They Can Reform.” Secretary McMahon opened her remarks by stating: “It is an honor to be here today at the White House with this dedicated coalition of students, faculty, Read More ›

Last week, the U.S. Department of Education announced six interagency agreements (IAAs) with four federal agencies to take another major step forward toward fulfilling the promise of dismantling the 45-year failure of the astronomically expensive and ineffective department. The agreements are with the Department of Labor, the Department of the Interior, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of State. According to a press release from the Department of Education, “by partnering with agencies that are best positioned to deliver results for students and taxpayers, these IAAs will streamline federal education activities on legally required programs, reduce administrative burdens, and refocus programs and activities to better serve students and grantees.” The six agreements are as follows. First Read More ›

I’m deeply grateful for the abundance of opportunities that continue to come, allowing us to drive true transformational change in education at the highest levels in our nation. This month, I was at the White House participating in a Policy Summit alongside national leaders in education, faith, and public policy. In mid-June, Senior Advisors of the President invited me to the White House to share about the work of Discovery Institute’s American Center for Transforming Education. In March, in recognition of our work to advance education freedom, I received a special invitation from the President to attend a White House unveiling and signing ceremony of the executive order that dismantles the U.S. Department of Education. This executive order serves as Read More ›

President Trump is fulfilling his campaign promises and delivering results for the American people. When it comes to the U.S. Department of Education, it is no different. Whether dramatically reducing, dismantling, or completely eliminating the department, the president will be good to his word, and work towards that end is already underway. While just 50 days in office thus far, the president has assembled a team that will get rid of the massive federal bureaucracy that is not improving education for children. Keep in mind that the U.S. Department of Education was created in 1979 by President Jimmy Carter to pay back the largest teachers union, the National Education Association, for their help in getting him elected. It’s time to eliminate the Read More ›

President Donald Trump hit the ground running, reforming K-12 education and restoring parental rights during his second week back in the Oval Office, which coincided with the 15th annual National School Choice Week. Last week, President Trump issued the “Expanding Educational Freedom and Opportunity for Families” executive order. According to a White House fact sheet, the order “recognizes that parents, not the government, play a fundamental role in choosing and directing the upbringing and education of their children.” The executive order states that within 60 days, “the Secretary of Education shall issue guidance regarding how States can use Federal formula funds to support K-12 educational choice initiatives.” It also “directs the Secretary of Education to prioritize school choice programs in Read More ›