1. United States
2. R.I.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge Congress to restore and fully fund the federal government’s capacity to support equitable public education throughout the United States. I ask Congress to restore the staffing, offices, institutional knowledge, civil-rights enforcement, education research, special-education support, student-aid administration, and grant-making capacity of the Department of Education to no less than the operational capacity it possessed on January 19, 2025. Restoration alone, however, is insufficient. Federal education policy should not remain vulnerable to unilateral dismantling, ideological restructuring, mass staffing reductions, politically motivated investigations, or the withholding of congressionally authorized funds by any president. The concentration of executive power is not limited to one political party. Presidential authority has expanded across administrations, and this structural accumulation of power threatens democratic accountability regardless of who occupies the White House. I urge Congress to enact a Federal Education Independence and Public Accountability Act that would: 1 Restore the Department’s offices, personnel, programs, research capacity, and civil-rights enforcement functions. 2 Fully fund Title I, special education, public-school infrastructure, school meals, educator preparation, arts education, career and technical education, student mental-health services, and federal student-aid programs. 3 Reconstitute the Department as a congressionally chartered independent federal education agency, protected to the fullest constitutionally permissible extent from unilateral presidential control. 4 Replace exclusive control by a single Cabinet secretary with a professionally qualified, Senate-confirmed education commission serving staggered terms, with no political party controlling more than a simple majority of its seats. 5 Prohibit any president or agency head from abolishing offices, transferring statutory responsibilities, impounding appropriated funds, or conducting major reductions in force without express congressional authorization. 6 Protect key offices from politically motivated interference. 7 Require broad participation from educators, students, families, and community stakeholders in major policy reviews. 8 Require Congress to conduct a comprehensive national education-needs assessment at least once every four years. Public education is a constitutional and democratic necessity. It should not be reorganized every few years according to shifting political priorities. Students, families, educators, and communities require continuity, expertise, equitable funding, and enforceable civil-rights protections. I urge Congress to restore federal education capacity and establish permanent safeguards against its unilateral dismantling.