A new poll from Parents Defending Education (PDE) confirms what most Americans with common sense already know: the U.S. Department of Education is an over-bloated, taxpayer-funded failure that needs to be scaled back or shut down entirely. According to the survey, 52% of U.S. parents support reducing the size and influence of the Department of Education, with only 45% opposing the idea. If you’re wondering who’s keeping that 45% afloat, it’s no surprise—Democrat parents are far more likely to cling to the idea of federal control over their children’s education.
Let’s break it down: 67% of Republican parents and 53% of independents back cutting the Department of Education down to size, compared to a measly 29% of Democrat parents. The same party that thinks banning gas stoves is a good idea apparently also believes Washington bureaucrats are the best people to teach kids how to read and write. Spoiler alert: they’re not.
The poll comes at a time when education reform is once again taking center stage, with President-elect Donald Trump promising to shut down the Department of Education early in his next term. And why not? The department, created by Jimmy Carter 45 years ago, has done nothing but squander resources while driving American education into the ground. During a conversation with Elon Musk in August 2023, Trump pointed out that the U.S. spends more per pupil than any other country, yet ranks near the bottom globally in education outcomes. “You can’t do worse,” Trump said. He’s not wrong.
If wasting money were an Olympic sport, the Department of Education would take home gold. Since 2021, over $1 billion has been funneled into Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including $489 million on race-based hiring and $343 million on DEI programming. Meanwhile, U.S. students can’t read at grade level or do basic math. Nicole Neily of PDE nailed it when she said, “Federal bureaucrats have sacrificed the needs of students and families in order to appease unions’ and activists’ insatiable demands for money and power.”
Here’s the kicker: 90% of parents agree schools should focus on core subjects like math, reading, and science instead of wasting time and money on leftist indoctrination. Even Democrat parents—91% of them—see the value in this. Yet the Department of Education continues to shovel cash into useless programs that produce nothing but underperforming students and bloated bureaucracies.
The solution is clear: return control of education to the states, where local leaders and parents can prioritize what matters—teaching kids, not catering to radical agendas. Conservatives have been saying this for decades, and now the numbers back it up. Democrats can keep worshiping at the altar of federal control, but the American people have had enough. January 20th, and Trump’s promise to clean house, can’t come soon enough.
