Senators formally introduce bill to eliminate Department of Education

• Republican senators introduced a measure to adjacent the U.S. Department of Education, pursuing President Trump's Executive Order redirecting its functions to different national agencies.
• The measure aims to destruct the Department of Education, trim standardized investigating requirements, and springiness schools much power implicit teacher certification and nonrecreational improvement standards.
• Supporters reason that the department's maturation has led to inefficiency and wasted resources, advocating for much section power and nonstop backing to enactment students and educators.

Republican senators introduced the "Returning Education to Our States Act" connected Wednesday greeting aft President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to adjacent the U.S. Department of Education successful precocious March. 

The bill, led by Senator Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota and cosponsored by Senators Jim Banks, R-Indiana, and Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, would redirect portions of the Department to different national agencies specified arsenic the Departments of Interior, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Labor, Defense, Justice, and State.

"The Department of Education was created to cod acquisition information and counsel authorities and section organizations connected champion practices," Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, told Fox News Digital. "Since then, it has grown into an oversized bureaucracy that dictates one-size-fits-all policies, standards and practices for students crossed the nation."

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., questions Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen  during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee proceeding titled The Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report to Congress, successful the Dirksen Senate Office Building connected May 10, 2022, successful Washington, D.C.  (Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images)

"This has been a precedence of excavation for years, and it’s 1 that President Trump shares."

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The instauration comes amid wide enactment among Republicans to destruct the agency, including the existent sitting Education Secretary, Linda McMahon, who elaborate her "vision for eliminating the Department of Education" successful a Fox News op-ed. 

McMahon and Rounds precocious held a gathering wherever the "Returning Education to Our States Act" was discussed. 

In summation to eliminating the agency, the authorities would besides marque cardinal changes to education compliance requirements, making it truthful that schools would nary longer beryllium required to administer standardized tests to place struggling schools (CSI and TSI). The measure would besides let schools much autonomy to acceptable teacher certification standards and nonrecreational improvement plans.

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The enforcement bid issued by President Donald Trump successful precocious March directs the section to "take each indispensable steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and instrumentality authorization implicit acquisition to the States and section communities," but it takes an enactment of Congress to formally abolish the department. 

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an enforcement bid to trim the size and scope of the Education Department alongside schoolhouse children signing their ain versions, during a ceremonial successful the East Room of the White House connected March 20, 2025, successful Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Co-sponsors of the measure accidental that this portion of authorities volition beryllium the measure that yet serves that purpose. 

"While the mean Dept of Ed bureaucrat makes doubly arsenic overmuch arsenic a teacher successful Indiana, our nationalist trial scores are adjacent historical lows. That wealth should beryllium sent backmost to the states to empower parents, teachers, and section leaders," Sen. Jim Banks. R-Indiana told Fox News Digital. "Congress has a aureate accidental to codify President Trump’s enforcement actions. This measure does that. It’s a triumph for American education."

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Fox News Digital besides spoke with Montana Senator Tim Sheehy, R-Montana, who weighed in, saying, "We walk much connected acquisition than astatine immoderate constituent successful history, but trial scores are declining due to the fact that those dollars are being squandered by a bloated national bureaucracy. Closing the DOE volition not chopped disconnected funds from students who beryllium connected them, but it volition destruct layers of reddish portion successful Washington, D.C. and guarantee payer wealth for acquisition is amended spent astatine the section level, wherever the dollars enactment kids, families, and hardworking teachers."

The U.S. Department of Education gathering is seen successful Washington, Nov. 18, 2024.  (Jose Luis Magana/AP)

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The Republican-led measure could perchance travel President Donald Trump’s enforcement bid and run committedness to reshape the American acquisition system arsenic it heads to the Senate Committee connected Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions for debate.

Preston Mizell is simply a writer with Fox News Digital covering breaking news. Story tips tin beryllium sent to [email protected] and connected X @MizellPreston