© 2024 SDPB Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Rounds introduces bill to eliminate Dept. of Ed

Sen. Rounds during a Senate committee meeting
rounds.senate.gov
Sen. Rounds during a Senate committee meeting

US Senator Mike Rounds is introducing a bill to eliminate the US Department of Education.

The South Dakota Republican Senator said its long past time to end this “bureaucratic department.”

“We all know local control is best when it comes to education," Rounds said in a press release. "Everyone raised in South Dakota can think of a teacher who played a big part in their educational journey. Local school boards and state Departments of Education know best what their students need, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington, D.C."

The proposal would redistribute critical federal programs to other departments.

The Department of Education was established by Congress. To eliminated it, the bill requires 60 votes in the Senate. Republicans will have 53 members in the chamber next year.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to eliminate the department. Trump recently nominated professional wrestling magnate and former US Small Business Administration head Linda McMahon to lead the agency.

Lee Strubinger is SDPB’s Rapid City-based politics and public policy reporter. Lee is a two-time national Edward R. Murrow Award winning reporter. He holds a master’s in public affairs reporting from the University of Illinois-Springfield.