SALT LAKE CITY — Following last week’s mass layoffs in the U.S. Department of Education, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox wrote an op-ed stating that education “is, and always has been, a state and local responsibility.”
Published Monday in the Washington Examiner, Cox said he was encouraged by the department’s reduction, which accounted for nearly half of the department’s federal workforce — bringing the total from 4,133 workers to roughly 2,183.
The latest move followed repeated vows from President Donald Trump to eliminate the department in its entirety and according to Cox’s letter, he is on board.
“Dismantling the Department of Education may sound bold. But it’s also common sense,” Cox wrote.
For too long, Washington has imposed a one-size-fits-all approach to education — and it’s not working.
It’s time for a commonsense conversation about winding down the U.S. Department of Education and restoring control to states and local communities. Utah knows what’s best for… pic.twitter.com/R4P1Kv86Fi
— Governor Cox (@GovCox) March 17, 2025
The Republican governor said the conversation around dismantling the department is long overdue, citing a 50-year expansion into education by the federal government.
“Congress has rewritten the rules and renamed the programs — from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to No Child Left Behind to the Every Student Succeeds Act. Yet none of these reforms address the underlying problem: Education shouldn’t be dictated by Washington. The Department of Education distorts our system of federalism, where powers are divided between the states and the federal government. It stifles innovation, wastes taxpayer dollars, and has failed to deliver better outcomes for students,” Cox wrote.
He called out the department’s spending of $268 billion last year and said the $68 billion being sent to states and school districts via grants comes with a caveat of states jumping through “expensive, time-consuming hoops.”
As Cox explained, Utah has to prove poverty rates to the federal government to secure Title I funding and submit “detailed plans” to receive Title II funds for teacher development, among other things.
“The requirements are so burdensome that in some Utah classrooms, paraprofessionals do much of the teaching because licensed teachers are overwhelmed by federal paperwork,” he wrote.
Despite his qualms, Cox said he believes the goals behind many of the federal programs are “worthwhile” and that he doesn’t doubt there are people in the department “working hard to help students.”
“But the idea that Utah — or any state — needs Washington bureaucrats overseeing our schools is both outdated and wrong,” Cox wrote.
He said that if states opt out of federal funds, its taxpayers don’t get their money back. Utah last year received the lowest funding of any state for K-12 education per pupil from the federal government.
Last week’s layoffs, he said, are a promising start to remedying this issue.
“If Congress and the president want to go further, they should consider proposals such as the LEARN Act, which would offer tax credits to residents of states that opt out of federal education programs. Taxpayers could keep more of their money, and states could decide which programs to continue locally,” Cox wrote.
While Cox wants to see the Department of Education done away with in its entirety, he said he understands those who have come to rely on federal education funding being cautious to change and worrying about some states being left behind.
“But that’s how federalism works. Our founders expected states to try different approaches and learn from one another. Innovation happens when states are free to lead, not when Washington imposes one-size-fits-all solutions,” he wrote.
Less government involvement and more room for innovation, he penned, will also help the U.S. stay competitive with countries like China when it comes to education.
“In Utah, we have some of the best educators, administrators, and parents in the country. If freed from burdensome federal mandates, there’s no doubt we could deliver an education system that reflects our values, meets the needs of our students, and prepares them for a dynamic world,” Cox wrote. “Washington doesn’t have all the answers. It’s time to trust states and local communities to do what they do best.”
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.