EXCLUSIVE VIEWPOINT | Elimination of DOE win for South Dakota families
Guest column by Gov. Larry Rhoden
South Dakotans often ask me my opinion on national affairs and Washington, D.C., politics. Truth be told, I spend much more of my time and energy focusing on what’s happening right here in our state. But when policy coming out of Washington impacts us – whether positively or negatively – I pay close attention. And one policy that will benefit South Dakota kids is President Trump’s Executive Order that he signed Thursday to dissolve the United States Department of Education.
Ultimately, public education has one core mission: teaching our kids what they need to know to be successful, with authority granted by their parents. So whenever we make policy decisions, that’s the question we should be asking: how does it benefit our kids?
Federal policy has lost sight of the core mission of education. In recent years, federal mandates have focused on policies that reinforce Critical Race Theory, DEI and a woke gender agenda. Each of those have been rejected by South Dakotans, so our schools shouldn’t be coerced to implement them just because Washington says so.
President Trump’s announcement recognizes this reality, and it refocuses the federal government’s role in our education system. In fact, Trump’s Secretary of Education, Linda McMahon, says that her vision is “to send education back to the states and empower all parents to choose an excellent education for their children.” I couldn't agree more.
The federal government will take a step back so that local schools can take a step forward. This allows for more local control, something that South Dakotans on both sides of the aisle support.
As a lifelong rancher, I know that what works in Sioux Falls doesn’t always work for Union Center. This nuance is too often ignored by D.C. mandates. Without a federal Department of Education micromanaging our kids’ education, our communities will be better able to do right by our children.
Funding for key education priorities, like special education, will not simply disappear because of President Trump’s action. Rather, local schools will receive that money without strings attached, which will give school districts more opportunities to be nimble and make the best decisions for our kids.
On the other hand, burdensome federal regulations of our education system will go by the wayside. As South Dakota’s Secretary of Education Dr. Joseph Graves often says, “The federal government purchases a dollar’s worth of regulation for a dime’s worth of funding.” Too often, they send us massive mandates with a small allocation to pay for it. That will end when President Trump dismantles the United States Department of Education.
Our state has much to be proud of. We are the freest state in a nation built on the principle of freedom, and we will advance the freedom of parents to choose the best educational path for their own kids. As your governor, I will continue looking for ways to give parents more opportunities to take charge of their kids’ education. And I am glad to have a president who recognizes that South Dakota can make better decisions for South Dakota kids than Washington, D.C., ever could.
Give me a break, "the freest state in a nation built on the principle of freedom, and we will advance the freedom of parents to choose the best educational path for their own kids.” In what fantasy world do you think the DOE chooses the educational path for South Dakota’s children? And let’s take a look at all the ways this Governor and the previous Governor inserted state government into the lives of South Dakotans—want to make your own health care choice? No, the state decides. Vote for medicaid expansion? No, the state decides. Vote for recreational marijuana? No, the state decides. If you think dismantling the DOE means that federal dollars will continue to flow to South Dakota in the same amount they currently do, you’re an idiot. It will simply be up to South Dakota to pay and to decide whether or not they’ll provide an education for students with disabilities. My guess would be we’ll get the same response we get when the question of school lunch comes up—feeding children is the responsibility of someone else and if your kid is disabled, tough. We can’t afford it. The assault on public education will continue until nothing’s left, but we’re free, we’re free, our teachers are among the most poorly paid in the country, but we’re free!
So short sighted—I know education is expensive and the results leave much to be desired, but some things are worth investing in, the education of our children being one of them. I just fear if left to our own devices, we’ll cut, cut, cut.
The governor apparently has no clue as to what the Dept of Education is responsible for. Not only do they oversee funding from the federal government, but they also advocate and oversee educational rules for disadvantaged students. They are the rules keepers for things like IEP's and 504 plans.