Education is the business of the states - The Washington Post

Education is the business of the states - The Washington Post:

Education is the business of the states

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. listens to testimony on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, during the committee's hearing looking at ways to fix the No Child Left Behind law. (Susan Walsh/AP)

By George F. Will Opinion writer February 6 at 8:20 PM 

In 1981, Tennessee’s 41-year-old governor proposed to President Ronald Reagan a swap: Washington would fully fund Medicaid, and the states would have complete responsibility for primary and secondary education. Reagan, a former governor, was receptive. But Democrats, who controlled the House and were beginning to be controlled by teachers unions (the largest, the National Education Association, had bartered its first presidential endorsement, of Jimmy Carter, for creation of the Education Department) balked.

In 1992, the former Tennessee governor was President George H.W. Bush’s education secretary. He urged Bush to veto proposed legislation to expand federal involvement in K-12 education. He said it would create “at least the beginnings of a national school board that could make day-to-day school decisions on curriculum, discipline, teacher training, textbooks and classroom materials.” The veto threat derailed Education is the business of the states - The Washington Post: