Although mainstream outlets claim closing the Department of Education is unpopular, a new poll shows that once voters hear the specifics, most actually support the idea.
Initially, 51 percent oppose shutting down the Department, while 38 percent are in favor. But after learning that K-12 funding would remain intact and that useful functions would be shifted to other agencies, support rose to 56 percent. In comparison, opposition drops to 30 percent, according to a survey by the Yes Every Kid Foundation, which fights for school choice.
Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications at the Department of Education, told the New York Post:
President Trump and Secretary [Linda] McMahon are dedicated to improving education for our nation’s students — and that begins with empowering those who are closest to the child. Returning education to the states means rightsizing the federal role in education by removing unnecessary red tape and micromanagement by DC while maintaining critical funding for students with disabilities and low-income schools and continuing to protect students’ civil rights.
Even more information, such as how reading and math scores have declined over recent decades, drove support for abolishing the department to 59 percent.
It’s reasonable to assume that additional facts, including how much the Department spends per student and how ineffective the funding is at improving education, would only drive that support even higher.
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Fulfilling President Trump’s goal of closing the Department of Education would require an act of Congress, but Republicans currently lack the votes to pass it. Instead, the president has directed Education Secretary Linda McMahon to shrink the department to the “maximum extent appropriate and permitted by law.” So far, she has reduced it by nearly half, consolidating several programs in preparation for the department's closure.
This survey stands in stark contrast to several popularly cited polls by the mainstream media, which have suggested that the move would be highly unpopular. The poll by the Yes Every Kid Foundation indicates that with better messaging, the American people would be entirely on board with the move.
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to dismantle the Department of Education and ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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