The Federal Role in Education
Grow, Shrink or Abolish?
The U.S. Department of Education was created in 1979 under President Jimmy Carter. The new federal department would “allow the Federal Government to meet its responsibilities in education more effectively, more efficiently, and more responsively,” President Carter said.
Since then, conservatives have railed against the ever-growing federal role in education. President Ronald Reagan vowed to abolish the Department of Education, calling it “President Carter’s new bureaucratic boondoggle.”
And yet, the department still exists. Its annual funding has steadily risen over the years, to roughly $71 billion in fiscal year 2011.
President Barack Obama wants to hike federal education spending to $77.4 billion — a nearly 11% rise over this year’s level. His GOP rivals, meanwhile, have different ideas. Most say they want to limit the size and scope of the U.S. Department of Education, while others call for its elimination.