This chapter says the Department of Education should be closed. Its work would go to the states. Some of it would go to other departments. It wants parents to control their child's share of school money. It also wants several school rules changed.
The document says “should”Who acts: Congress, PresidentHow: legislationp. 319 in the PDF
What the document says
“Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.”
This is the chapter's opening proposition and the frame for the rest of it. The chapter then sets out where each of the department's offices and programs should go: some block-granted to states, some moved to other departments, some eliminated. It says that to wind the department down, Congress must pass and the President sign a Department of Education Reorganization Act.
What the document actually says
“Federal education policy should be limited and, ultimately, the federal Department of Education should be eliminated.”
That sentence, in plain words
Washington should do less on schools. In the end, the Department of Education should be closed.
What this is about
One federal department handles schools. The book says it should be shut down. Its work would go to states or to other departments.
Shares the chapter's central aim. The chapter said plainly that eliminating the department requires Congress to pass a Department of Education Reorganization Act. An executive order cannot abolish a department created by statute, so this directs steps toward closure rather than achieving it.
The document says “should”Who acts: States, CongressHow: legislationp. 319 in the PDF
What the document says
“every parent should have the option to direct his or her child’s share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA)”
The chapter says elementary and secondary education policy should follow the path Milton Friedman set out in 1955, in which education is publicly funded but decisions are made by families. It notes such accounts would be funded overwhelmingly by state and local taxpayers.
What the document actually says
“every parent should have the option to direct his or her child’s share of education funding through an education savings account (ESA)”
That sentence, in plain words
Each child has a share of school money. Parents should be able to steer it themselves.
What this is about
Money is spent on each child at school. The book says parents should control that share. They could spend it at a school of their choice.
Addresses the chapter's subject of letting parents direct their child's share of education funding. The chapter's proposal was for education savings accounts funded overwhelmingly by state and local taxpayers, which is a matter for states; this order works on the federal levers available to it.
The document says “should”Who acts: CongressHow: legislationp. 320 in the PDF
What the document says
“those funds should be blockgranted to states without strings, eliminating the need for many federal and state bureaucrats”
The chapter argues that federal money comes with rules that raise the cost of education without raising achievement, and that funding and policymaking should eventually happen at state and local level. It asks that existing funding be sent to states as grants they can put toward any lawful education purpose under state law.
What the document actually says
“those funds should be blockgranted to states without strings, eliminating the need for many federal and state bureaucrats”
That sentence, in plain words
Send the money to the states in one lump. Attach no rules to it.
What this is about
Federal school money comes with many rules. The book says the rules do not help. It wants the money sent to states with no strings.
Addresses the chapter's subject of returning control to states. Whether it produces the no-strings block grants the chapter asked for is not established by the order alone.
The document says “should”Who acts: CongressHow: legislationp. 325 in the PDF
What the document says
“The federal government should confine its involvement in education policy to that of a statistics-gathering agency that disseminates information to the states.”
The chapter says the complexity of federal education programs has contributed to bureaucratic bloat in state and local districts, and that streamlining funding into straightforward per-pupil allocations or unrestricted grants would ease the compliance burden.
What the document actually says
“The federal government should confine its involvement in education policy to that of a statistics-gathering agency that disseminates information to the states.”
That sentence, in plain words
Washington should only collect numbers about schools. Then it should share them with the states.
What this is about
The book says Washington should stop setting school rules. It should only gather facts and figures. Then it would pass them to the states.
The document says “should”Who acts: CongressHow: legislationp. 330 in the PDF
What the document says
“OCR should move to the Department of Justice.”
The chapter says the federal government has an essential responsibility to enforce civil rights protections but should do so through the Justice Department and the federal courts, and that the office once moved should be able to enforce only through litigation rather than administratively.
What the document actually says
“OCR should move to the Department of Justice.”
That sentence, in plain words
This office should move to the Justice Department.
What this is about
One office handles school discrimination cases. The book says it should move. It would then have to go to court to act.
The document says “should”Who acts: Congress, PresidentHow: legislationp. 327 in the PDF
What the document says
“The next Administration should completely reverse the student loan federalization of 2010”
The chapter asks that the Administration work with Congress to spin off Federal Student Aid and its student loan obligations into a new government corporation with professional governance and management. It says elsewhere that student loans and grants should ultimately be restored to the private sector, or at the least that the government should revisit its role as guarantor rather than direct lender.
What the document actually says
“The next Administration should completely reverse the student loan federalization of 2010”
That sentence, in plain words
In 2010 the government took over student lending. That should be undone.
What this is about
The government lends money for college. It took that job over in 2010. The book says that should be reversed.
The document says “should”Who acts: President, Department of EducationHow: regulationp. 322 in the PDF
What the document says
“Borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.”
The chapter says the Administration must end what it calls the practice of treating the federal student loan portfolio as a campaign fund to curry political support, and must end abuses in the loan forgiveness programs. It separately asks that existing income-driven repayment plans be phased out and replaced with a single plan exempting income up to the poverty line and requiring payments of 10 percent above it.
What the document actually says
“Borrowers should be expected to repay their loans.”
That sentence, in plain words
People who borrow should be expected to pay it back.
What this is about
Students borrow money for college. Some plans cancel part of the debt. The book says that should stop. It says borrowers should repay.
The document says “should”Who acts: President, Department of EducationHow: regulationp. 334 in the PDF
What the document says
“On its first day in office, the next Administration should signal its intent to enter the rulemaking process to restore the Trump”
The full passage asks the next Administration to signal on day one its intent to restore the Trump Administration's Title IX regulation, with the additional insistence that sex is properly understood as a fixed biological fact, and to post notice-and-comment immediately. The chapter also asks for a full review of Title IX investigations conducted on the understanding that sex referred to gender identity or sexual orientation, for all such ongoing investigations to be dropped, and for affected districts to be told they may drop policy changes made under pressure.
What the document actually says
“On its first day in office, the next Administration should signal its intent to enter the rulemaking process to restore the Trump”
That sentence, in plain words
On day one, say that the old rule will be brought back.
What this is about
Title IX is a law about sex discrimination at school. Rules under it were changed. The book wants the earlier rules back. It says sex should mean the sex a person was born as.
The document says “should”Who acts: Department of EducationHow: regulationp. 336 in the PDF
What the document says
“The next Administration should immediately commence rulemaking to rescind the Equity in IDEA regulation.”
The regulation requires states to consider race and ethnicity in the identification, placement and discipline of students with disabilities. The chapter says that as a result students are being denied access to special education because of their race or ethnicity, that this was not the intent of the rule but an inevitable byproduct of its assumptions, and that no replacement regulation is required.
What the document actually says
“The next Administration should immediately commence rulemaking to rescind the Equity in IDEA regulation.”
That sentence, in plain words
Start the process to cancel this rule at once.
What this is about
One rule makes states look at race in special education. The book says that leads schools to turn children away. It wants the rule cancelled.
The document says “should”Who acts: Department of Education, DOJHow: regulationp. 335 in the PDF
What the document says
“the new Administration should also direct the department and DOJ jointly to issue enforcement guidance stating that the agencies will no longer investigate Title VI cases that exclusively rest on allegations of disparate impact.”
Title VI bars discrimination on grounds of race, color or national origin in federally funded programs. Disparate impact refers to a policy that produces unequal outcomes without discriminatory intent. The chapter says sweeping action is needed so that the purpose of the Civil Rights Act is not inverted through a disparate impact standard, and asks for a regulation clarifying the point.
What the document actually says
“the new Administration should also direct the department and DOJ jointly to issue enforcement guidance stating that the agencies will no longer investigate Title VI cases that exclusively rest on allegations of disparate impact.”
That sentence, in plain words
Tell both agencies to drop these cases. They rest only on who ends up worse off.
What this is about
A school rule can hit one group harder than others. That can count as discrimination even if it was not meant. The book says such cases should not be looked into.
The document says “must”Who acts: Department of EducationHow: regulationp. 331 in the PDF
What the document says
“The new Administration must take immediate steps to rescind the new requirements and lessen the federal restrictions on charter schools.”
The chapter lists the Charter School Grant Program priorities among five primary regulatory targets for the next Administration, alongside rules on data collection, Title IX and special education.
What the document actually says
“The new Administration must take immediate steps to rescind the new requirements and lessen the federal restrictions on charter schools.”
That sentence, in plain words
Cancel these new rules at once. Loosen the federal limits on charter schools.
What this is about
Charter schools are public schools run outside the usual system. New rules made it harder to get grants. The book says those rules should go.
The document says “should”Who acts: Department of EducationHow: regulationp. 337 in the PDF
What the document says
“The Secretary should phase out all existing IDR plans by making new loans (including consolidation loans) ineligible”
The chapter proposes a single replacement plan with an income exemption equal to the poverty line and payments of 10 percent of income above it. It says that if new legislation is possible there should be no loan forgiveness at all, but that without it existing law would require forgiving any remaining balance after 25 years.
What the document actually says
“The Secretary should phase out all existing IDR plans by making new loans (including consolidation loans) ineligible”
That sentence, in plain words
Close the current payment plans to new loans. Let them run out.
What this is about
Some plans set payments by what a borrower earns. The book says these should be closed to new loans. One new plan would replace them.
The document says “should”Who acts: CongressHow: legislationp. 326 in the PDF
What the document says
“Most IDEA funding should be converted into a no-strings formula block grant targeted at students with disabilities”
The chapter proposes distributing the money directly to local education agencies through the Administration for Children and Families at Health and Human Services, and moving the department's disability discrimination enforcement work to the Justice Department.
What the document actually says
“Most IDEA funding should be converted into a no-strings formula block grant targeted at students with disabilities”
That sentence, in plain words
Most of this money should go out as a block grant. It should carry no strings.
What this is about
Federal money helps schools teach children with disabilities. The book says it should go straight to school districts. Another department would send it.
The document says “should”Who acts: PresidentHow: executive orderp. 337 in the PDF
What the document says
“The next Administration should prohibit the USDA or any other federal agency from withholding services”
The full passage covers agencies withholding services from federal or state agencies, including schools, that choose not to replace sex with sexual orientation and gender identity in their administration of Title IX. It follows the chapter's request that school meal program rules be reviewed.
What the document actually says
“The next Administration should prohibit the USDA or any other federal agency from withholding services”
That sentence, in plain words
No agency should be able to cut off services over this.
What this is about
Some agencies asked schools to change how they read the word sex. Schools that refused risked losing help. The book says that should not be allowed.
The chapter's central proposal to eliminate the department, its plan for where each office and program should go, its regulatory targets, and its proposals on student loans, civil rights enforcement and parental rights.
The chapter's office-by-office disposition of every program, which runs to many separate items, and its extended argument about higher education accreditation and workforce data.
The chapter's central proposal requires an act of Congress, which it says plainly. Many of its other proposals are conditional on that act, and are recorded here as they are stated rather than as steps that could be taken alone.
