Republican Ohio lawmakers plan to formally pledge their support for the Trump administration dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education with a resolution this week.
Resolutions are planned in both chambers of the General Assembly that urge Congress to dissolve the federal department, as President Donald Trump has promised to do since the beginning of his second term.
The language of the Ohio resolution states that education “is not a power delegated to the federal government and has historically been governed by states and local communities accountable to families.” It goes on to say that under federal involvement, academic achievement has “stagnated or declined.”
“Decades of increased federal spending and regulation have not improved outcomes for students, but have imposed burdens on states and their schools,” according to the draft resolution.
Republican state Rep. David Thomas, R-Jefferson, said the measure will be introduced as part of a national movement that he said is needed to help federal leaders get the ball rolling.
“I think that the federal government and our federal partners need state support to be able to push this concept,” Thomas said. “So, I see the impact essentially being a sign-off of yes, Ohio agrees this should be done.”
The resolution’s language is nearly identical to model language provided by the America First Policy Institute, a national right-wing non-profit policy organization. The deputy director of the group’s Ohio chapter is Emily Moreno, daughter of Republican U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno.
The institute called the federal education agency a “failed experiment” in background included with the model language.
“(The department) has not promoted student achievement, improved education for disadvantaged students, nor helped expand educational opportunity,” the group stated.
The department “has used federal funding to coerce states into complying with controversial social policies that should be reserved to local decision-makers,” the institute added.
In the resolution, Ohio would create a task force to create and publish a “comprehensive plan to assume full responsibility for education programs” currently under the U.S. Department of Education purview.
That comprehensive plan is set to include any statutory changes required to “assume administrative control over federal education programs,” and the identification of federal education mandates Ohio would “decline to administer.”
The one clause from the model language state legislators didn’t include in the draft resolution promised a state report using metrics from the plan to “measure student outcomes, fiscal efficiency and regulatory burdens.” Under the model language, the report would “allow the public to compare outcomes under new state educational leadership relative to the prior period of federal education control.”
Through conversations with members of public schools and some teachers, Thomas said he’s found the concept of trying to bring education funding “more local” has “broad public support.”
“When I ask (schools) how can we help you cut costs, each school brings up all the regulations and the mandates and different things,” Thomas said. “This, to me, is another good example of something I’ve wanted, which is having more flexibility to remove a lot of those types of (federal requirements).”
State leaders have already shown support for the dismantling of the federal department, with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine attending an event where Trump signed an executive order to begin eliminating the department.
In a world without the U.S. Department of Education, Thomas sees the state moving to more of a block grant-type process, with the middleman out of the way. The federal money, which makes up about 10% of education funding in Ohio, would still come, but the state would have more control over what to do with it, he said.
“I’m sure a lot of folks think you get rid of the Department of Education and that gets rid of all the money,” Thomas said. “That’s not been what the administration has been saying, that’s not what this resolution is supporting.”
Teachers unions in Ohio and nationwide have stood staunchly against the effort, worrying about the loss of federal protections and other necessary services from the move.
“Dismantling (the department) risks cutting or destabilizing Title I and special education supports, weakens civil rights protections, and shifts costs onto local communities through higher levies or painful cuts to services,” said Jeff Wensing, president of the Ohio Education Association, in a statement.
The union leader said the consequences of the agency’s elimination would be “immediate and profound,” with less accountability for public funds and increasing inequality.
“Educators, parents, and families know that our students need more opportunities to succeed, not less,” Wensing said. “We need to strengthen our public schools where 90% of students – and 95% of students with disabilities – learn.”
Thomas doesn’t see the elimination of the federal department of education affecting the school funding formula in the state, even with a change in federal funding model.
“I don’t think that changes dramatically with a federal Department of Education-less world,” Thomas said. “I think it’s more so the policy side that changes dramatically.”
Originally published by the Ohio Capital Journal. Republished here with permission.