State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne says the potential closure of the U.S. Department of Education (USDoE) would not mean a loss of federal education money for Arizona because that funding is attached to education laws, not the existence of an inefficient federal agency.
“Shutting down the U.S. Department of Education would not result in a loss of federal formula funding for Arizona,” stated Horne. “Those dollars are appropriated by Congress and tied to federal education laws for special education, disadvantaged students, English language learners and others. The money for competitive grants could also be directed back to states. There is no reason to filter funds through a federal bureaucracy.”
“I have seen comments saying that the federal department is needed because national test scores in reading, writing and math have gone down over the past 40 years. That just proves the USDoE is useless since those declines happened under its watch,” said Horne. “The money used to operate this bureaucracy should go to local schools instead.”
“Even worse are some of the absurd things the U.S. department has required over the years,” continued Horne. “During my first term as Superintendent, the federal department tried to require four questions to be asked of English language learners including the first language spoken in the home. A Navajo student who spoke only English answered that his grandmother spoke Navajo, and the federal department nonsensically made him take an English language test that he did not pass for academic reasons. He was erroneously classified as an English language learner and somehow ended up in a Spanish language class. The Navajo Nation complained to me, and I immediately changed the process to determining the dominant language of the student. The federal government made an outrageous and stupid decision that demonstrates how out-of-touch Washington bureaucrats are. I opposed it and dared the USDoE to sue the state. They never did. The same thing happened when I insisted that teachers who did not speak English properly should teach a subject other than the English language. Again, the federal government complained, I dared them to sue and the never did. Unfortunately, my successor later compromised with them on both issues.”
“Some of my Associate Superintendents must deal with the obsolete USDoE grants management system, where only one person per state can have an account to upload the information. It is antiquated and when something uploads incorrectly, the problem is almost impossible to fix,” explained Horne. “There are required data reports that are duplicative and inefficient. There is required out-of-state travel for training that is not tied to any measurable academic outcomes, among other examples.”
“USDoE is hopelessly ineffective. According to a federal Office of Management and Budget report, more than half of the nearly 4,300 USDoE employees don’t bother to come into the office to work. This, despite the fact they are supposed to serve educators, all of whom leave home to teach in classrooms. This is a waste of taxpayer dollars, shows a poor work ethic and sets a bad example to teachers and students who gather in person to learn. Educators should have a passion for academic excellence, but that is not evident at USDoE.”
