Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann shared some thoughts about the federal role of education during a message she gave at Dordt College in Sioux Center, IA yesterday. From The Des Moines Register:
“I want to close down the fed Department of Education, turn off lights, lock the doors and instead keep all that money in Iowa,” Bachmann said, to cheers.
Bachmann said education concerns were what prompted her to enter politics in the first place, after she became concerned with the work her foster children were doing in public schools.
The federal government has insinuated itself into local public schools, she said, and in the process has lowered the quality of education, wasted taxpayer dollars and overstepped its constitutional boundaries. The solution is to remove federal influence and empower parents to choose how their children are educated – be it in public schools, private schools, religious schools or at home.
“As a parent you should get to decide what kind of education you want for your children,” she said. “And you shouldn’t be economically disadvantaged because of the choice you make.”
I wholeheartedly agree with Congresswoman Bachmann’s position on this, and she has been the most vocal of all the candidates on this subject. I’d just like to know what she would do to reverse Race to the Top and the federal creep into States with the Common Core State Standards. Closing the Department won’t happen overnight and I’d like to know what the intermediate steps she would implement.
Originally posted at American Principles in Action