Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress finds the following: Principles of federalism embodied in the Constitution of the United States entrust authority over issues of educational policy to the States and the people and a Federal Department of Education is inconsistent with such principles. Tradition and experience dictate that the governance and management of schools in the United States are best performed by parents, teachers, and communities. The education of the Nation’s students is suffering under a managerial government.
The Department of Education has weakened the ability of parents to make essential decisions about their children’s education and has undermined the capacity of communities to govern their schools. In the 41 years of its existence, the Department of Education has grown from a budget of $14 billion to almost $73.5 billion in annual discretionary appropriations administering around 100 programs. Meanwhile, education performance for 17-year-olds has stagnated since 1971. The Department of Education has fostered over-regulation, standardization, bureaucratization, and litigation in United States education.
The Department of Education expends large amounts of money on its own maintenance and overhead. While the average national salary for public school teachers is $61,730 the average salary for a Department of Education employee is $112,724. In certain States, the average State salary for a public school teacher is less than the national average. In North Carolina, the average salary for a public school teacher is $53,975. Recent tests reflect poor results in mathematics, science, and reading for American students compared with students from other nations.
Only through initiatives led by parents and local communities with the power to act can the United States elevate educational performance toward an acceptable level. The current system of top-down education uniformity is detrimental to local businesses and communities, the economic needs of the States, and the Nation’s ability to compete globally for jobs. The Department of Education has been hostile to many promising reforms, including reforms that would empower parents, teachers, and local communities.
The United States, once a laboratory of innovation through the experiments of the States, is moving toward education standardization that does not consider the individual educational needs of our diverse population of students.