Congress Must Defend Public Education and Civil Rights

Public education is one of the most important long-term investments the United States has ever made. A well-educated population strengthens economic growth, supports innovation, reduces long-term public costs, and sustains democratic participation. More than 80 percent of American children attend public schools, making their stability a matter of national interest. That system is now facing a sustained federal retreat. Investigative reporting by ProPublica documents that Education Secretary Linda McMahon has described public schools as “failing” and called for a “hard reset” of American education. Yet the policies being implemented under her leadership reflect not reinvestment, but a systematic reduction of federal oversight paired with efforts to redirect public resources away from public schools. Multiple outlets, including Education Week and The Washington Post, report that the Department of Education is substantially downsizing its role in K–12 education. In a major restructuring, responsibility for administering many federal K–12 programs—representing roughly $20 billion annually—is being shifted out of the Department. This fragmentation weakens federal oversight and reduces the ability to enforce consistent national standards. At the same time, the Department has begun granting waivers that allow states greater discretion over how federal education funds are used. While described as “flexibility,” these waivers reduce federal guardrails tied to equity and accountability. Reporting on Iowa’s recently approved waiver indicates that additional states may follow, accelerating the erosion of nationwide protections for vulnerable students. Equally concerning is the weakening of the Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which since 1979 has enforced federal anti-discrimination laws protecting students with disabilities, students of color, and those facing sex discrimination. ProPublica and Education Week report that staffing reductions and narrowed priorities have slowed investigations and limited families’ ability to seek federal intervention when schools fail to meet their legal obligations. These changes are occurring as many public school districts face enrollment declines that directly affect funding and staffing. Reducing federal support and oversight at this moment compounds existing pressures on the system that educates the vast majority of American children. ProPublica also reports that senior advisers now shaping education policy come from advocacy organizations that have long opposed public education as a system and favor minimizing or eliminating the federal role altogether. Their objectives closely align with proposals outlined in Project 2025, which explicitly calls for dismantling the Department of Education and rolling back federal civil-rights enforcement. Some officials have also promoted curricula that blur the constitutional separation of church and state. If public funds are used to advance religious instruction, constitutional principles require equal treatment of all faiths—an unworkable and divisive outcome. Public schools exist to serve a pluralistic society and prepare students for civic participation, not to privilege one belief system. Public education benefits everyone, including those without children in school. Weakening it undermines economic competitiveness, civic stability, and equal opportunity nationwide. Congress has both the authority and responsibility to act. I urge you to hold oversight hearings, investigate the redirection of federal education funds, restore civil-rights enforcement capacity, and reaffirm constitutional protections. Public education is a public good. Congress must act now to protect it.