How Trump’s proposal to cut Dept. of Education could impact Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. — A Senate bill was introduced on Nov. 21 to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, something President-elect Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail.

The federal institution is focused on student achievement and equal access to education, according to its website. It is the No. 3 U.S. agency in terms of money spent, behind the Defense and Health and Human Services departments, although most education funding comes from localities and states.

Trump wants to return education back to the states in an effort to minimize what he considers bloat among government agencies. The role of the federal government is to protect and preserve state and local control over the curriculum, administration, and personnel of their education departments, Trump wrote in a previous executive order.

The DOE is not even 50 years old; it launched in 1980 after Congress passed legislation to create it. Former President Ronald Reagan proposed ending the department when he took office a few years later.

There’s more to this in the current issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Support local journalism by purchasing the issue at a local newsstand or subscribing at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to receive the print edition or view the full article in the e-edition version.