Gov. Cox calls Trump’s aggressive Department of Education actions ‘encouraging’

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is encouraged by the Trump administration’s aggressive actions to reduce the role of the Department of Education and “returning power where it belongs: to states and local communities.”

In an op-ed piece published Monday in the Washington Examiner, Cox argued that the federal government and education policy are bad partners.

“Education is, and always has been, a state and local responsibility,” wrote the governor. “Yet for decades, Washington, D.C., has taken an outsize role in telling states how to educate their children — often with disappointing results.”

Cox calls for a “commonsense” discussion about “winding down the department altogether.”

That’s an action Trump has long touted — calling the DOE “a big con job” and, in recent days, handing pink slips to a sizable chunk of the agency’s workforce.

For nearly a half-century, Cox noted, the federal government has expanded its education reach — rewriting rules and renaming programs. “Yet none of these reforms address the underlying problem: Education shouldn’t be dictated by Washington.”

The DOE, wrote the governor, distorts power divisions between the states and the federal government — stifling innovation, wasting tax dollars and failing “to deliver better outcomes for students.”

In Monday’s op-ed, Cox noted that the DOE spent $268 billion in 2024. “About $68 billion of that was sent back to states and school districts in the form of grants — but only after states jumped through expensive, time-consuming hoops.”

The states, he added, are now tasked with multiple administrative tasks to access DOE-provided funds such as Title I and other assistance programs.

“The requirements are so burdensome that in some Utah classrooms, paraprofessionals do much of the teaching because licensed teachers are overwhelmed by federal paperwork,” wrote Cox.

“That’s not to say the goals behind these programs aren’t worthwhile. And I have no doubt there are good 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 But the idea that Utah — or any state — needs Washington bureaucrats overseeing our schools is both outdated and wrong.”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: How to fix education

The governor also laments in his op-ed piece that states have become dependent on federal funds administered by the DOE. “If a state opts out, its taxpayers don’t get their money back — they end up subsidizing other states. That’s neither fair nor sustainable.”

So what’s a better solution?

The federal workforce reductions announced this week are a promising start, answered Cox.

“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.”

Many watching the ongoing upheaval of the DOE worry that kids from disadvantaged homes and communities would be harmed if the federal agency is shuttered or dramatically restructured.

But Cox countered that Utah has a “long track record of investing in education” — including supporting low-income schools.

“But we could do it with more flexibility, less bureaucracy, and greater accountability to Utah families — not Washington regulators.”

Scrapping the 46-year-old Education Department would require an act of Congress — and it’s uncertain if Trump has the support he would need to eliminate the agency.

But short of that congressional action, wrote Cox, shifting to flexible block grants would make for sound policy. “It would cut red tape, save money, and allow states to innovate in ways that best serve their students.”

‘Washington doesn’t have all the answers’

The governor acknowledged fears that without national oversight of education, some states might fall 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.”

Others are unsettled by institutional change — or sound alarms about remaining competitive with countries such as China.

“But I am not convinced that more federal control is the answer,” wrote Cox. “In fact, I believe it’s part of the problem.”

Cox concluded Monday’s op-ed saluting Utah’s educators, administrators and parents — calling them some of the nation’s best.

“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.”

Dismantling the DOE, Cox repeated, is good common sense.

“Washington doesn’t have all the answers. It’s time to trust states and local communities to do what they do best.”

So what does the Education Department do?

For starters, the DOE does not dictate what educators teach in the classroom. That’s up to local schools and districts.

Instead, the agency’s primary role is financial.

The department’s largest K-12 task is overseeing implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires states to monitor their schools’ progress and intervene in poorly performing schools in exchange for federal money, including funding from Title I, an $18.4 billion program, according to Education Week.

The department also administers the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act — a $14.2 billion program that helps schools pay for special education services for students with disabilities.

In higher education, meanwhile, the Education Department oversees the Free Application for Student Aid, or FAFSA, and the massive federal student loan and grant programs (the federal direct student loans program has a portfolio of outstanding loans totaling over $1 trillion).

Trump has not offered details on how the DOE’s core functions of sending federal money to local districts and schools would be handled.

During Linda McMahon’s recent confirmation hearing, the education secretary said she would preserve core initiatives including Title I money, Pell Grants and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. But she also questioned whether some programs directed by the DOE should be moved to other federal agencies.

More than 100,000 Utah K-12 students benefit from federal funds allocated by the DOE through programs such as Title I.

Local Utah education leaders recently said they are waiting to learn the DOE’s fate before articulating a possible responses if the embattled federal agency is eliminated or significantly altered.