World Blog by humble servant.Humble Servant on X: Special Report - Department of Education Dismantling Justified.

Humble Servant on X: Special Report - Department of Education Dismantling Justified

Since its inception in 1979, the U.S. Department of Education (DoE) was tasked with elevating American education. Yet, after decades of centralized control, ballooning budgets, and pervasive federal oversight, the evidence of failure is stark: stagnant test scores, wasted funds, unaddressed literacy crises, and policy overreach. Lawsuits from students, parents, and advocates amplify this critique, exposing a bureaucracy that props up dysfunction rather than fixes it. This report, informed by recent X posts and web analyses, argues that dismantling the DoE and returning education to the states is not just viable—it’s overdue.

Persistent Decline in Academic Outcomes

Despite billions spent, student performance has languished under the DoE’s watch:

NAEP Scores: The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reveals reading scores for 17-year-olds stuck at 285/500 since the 1970s. Math peaked at 309 in 1990 but slid to 302 by 2022. Younger students fared worse—2022 saw 9- and 13-year-olds drop 5-7 points in reading and 7-14 in math since 2012, erasing gains. X users like @EduReformNow

 (March 2025) call this “a federal failure decades in the making,” noting states like Mississippi (up 10 points in 4th-grade reading since 2013) thrive without DoE micromanagement.

International Lag: PISA ranks U.S. 15-year-olds 25th in math and 13th in reading among 79 nations (2018). Singapore and Estonia, lacking a DoE equivalent, dominate, suggesting centralized control delivers mediocrity, not excellence.

Lawsuit: Gary B. v. Whitmer (Detroit, MI): In 2016, Detroit students sued Michigan, alleging DoE-funded schools—rife with no heat or books—left them illiterate (e.g., 4% reading proficiency in 2018). The 2020 $94.5 million state settlement bypassed DoE action, underscoring federal impotence.

Bureaucratic Inefficiency and Waste

The DoE’s $79.6 billion FY 2024 budget exemplifies waste over results:

FAFSA Fiasco (2024): A $1.5 billion FAFSA overhaul flopped, with GAO noting 40+ glitches delaying aid for 7 million students. Applications fell 40% by March 2024, hitting low-income students hardest (27% of high-poverty seniors applied by June vs. 45% prior). X posts from @CollegeAccess

 (March 2025) decry “DoE’s tech graveyard,” pushing for Treasury to take over.

Title I Misallocation: Meant for poor schools, Title I’s $16.5 billion (2023) falls $30 billion short of equity goals (Center for American Progress). A 2019 report found 20% went to low-poverty districts, exposing DoE’s oversight failure.

Lawsuit: HERA v. DeVos (2020): Student Defense sued the DoE for stalling loan discharges for defrauded students. Years of delays ended in a 2021 settlement, but critics ask: if the DoE can’t handle basic duties, why trust it with education?

Failure to Address Literacy Crises

Literacy lawsuits reveal a DoE incapable of tackling a national disgrace—25% of students below basic reading (NAEP 2022):

Aleysha Ortiz (Hartford, CT): Ortiz sued in December 2024, alleging DoE-funded special education failed her—she graduated illiterate in 2024 despite disabilities. With 54% of adults below 6th-grade reading (2019 DoE study), the $1.2 billion in special ed grants seems squandered.

Lawsuit: Ella T. v. California (2017): Students sued over sub-10% literacy rates in failing schools, tied to DoE’s Title I funds. California’s 2020 $53 million settlement sidestepped federal fixes, showing states act where DoE doesn’t.

Lawsuit: NCYL and COPAA v. DoE (2025): Filed March 18, 2025, this suit claims the DoE ignored civil rights complaints, including literacy failures for disabled kids. X user @ParentAdvocate

 (March 19, 2025) calls it “proof the DoE’s a paper tiger.”

Lawsuit: Conley and Hudak v. Heinemann (MA, 2024): Two mothers sued over the “three-cueing” curriculum—pushed in DoE-funded schools—that left kids illiterate. Filed December 2024, it faults the DoE for backing flawed methods while 40 states shift to phonics.

Overreach and Policy Missteps

The DoE’s intrusions waste resources and spark legal backlash:

Title IX Chaos (2024): Redefining sex discrimination cost schools millions (e.g., Louisiana’s $1.2 million) before 26 states sued and courts paused it by July 2024. X’s @SchoolChoiceNow

 (March 2025) labels it “DoE’s ideological overreach.”

Loan Forgiveness Mess: The $153 billion plan (2024) stalled in courts (Missouri v. Biden, 2023), with only 4% of applications processed by mid-2024. Critics see it as a $1.7 trillion distraction from K-12.

Lawsuit: ACLU and NEA v. DoE (2025): Filed March 5, 2025, this challenges a DoE threat to cut funds over DEI, alleging First Amendment breaches. X’s @FreeEdUSA

 (March 6, 2025) argues it proves DoE meddles where Congress forbids.

Argument for Dismantling Reinforced

These failures—flat scores, wasted billions, literacy crises, and overreach—backed by lawsuits like Gary B., Ella T., Ortiz, NCYL/COPAA, HERA, ACLU/NEA, and Conley/Hudak, indict the DoE. Since 1979, it’s burned trillions ($2 trillion by 2020, adjusted) with 25% of students still illiterate. States like Florida (4th-grade reading up 10 points since 2000) and Texas (post-2020 curriculum reform) succeed without federal shackles. Abolitionists, echoing Project 2025, propose scrapping the DoE’s 4,400 jobs and $200 billion budget, redirecting funds as block grants ($15,000 per student) to states. Civil rights could shift to Justice, data to Census—streamlining without loss. X’s @HumbleServant

 (March 2025) sums it up: “The DoE’s a relic. States can do better.”