The basic reason for the existence of States in a Republic is to act as a brake on the tendency of the central government to tilt toward dictatorship.

The device employed by the founders of the U.S.A. to allow the States to resist this tendency was the upper house of Congress; Section 3 “The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each State, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years; and each Senator shall have one Vote.”

Each State had two votes, regardless of size or population. The Senators, therefore, had act and vote according to the dictates of the members of their respective State Legislators who had sent them to Washington D.C. and no large State could exert any power by itself.

The concept was brilliant. The Federal Government’s agencies had to convince a majority of the States’ Representatives to give them more power to spend and control. No easy task.

Unfortunately, this balance of power was ended in 1913 with the passage of the 17th Amendment to the constitution; the direct, democratic election of Senators by the People. America, as a Republic, was relegated to the ash heap of History, and the 10th Amendment was rendered moot; America was, fundamentally changed into a Dictatorship.

It is 1913 that must be repealed. Along with the 17th Amendment, the 16th Amendment (Income Tax), and the central bank must be repealed if America is to survive as a haven for Individual Rights. The roots of power are deep and power, as Lord Acton reminded us, corrupts and, if not stopped, corrupts absolutely.

Amen . . .

Good!

Let's allow parents and taxpayers control how their education dollars are spent.

I am a pell-grant recipient from a lower income area in Michigan. That and financial aid, loans got me through my degree in 1992 from MSU.

That said. It's all broken. Sort the students in EACH subject by their ability+desire. And group them as close to that. You can teach 50 kids in the TOP section of that grouping in ONE CLASS.
Because they are at the same level.

And in the BOTTOM section. You teach one class, but with 2-3 teachers. And you slow it down so that the class matches their level and desire.

I was a rockstar in math, and scored 9% (91% did better) in English on my ACT scores. I could code, build electronic circuits... And apparently NOT comprehend the purpose of a sentence! LOL

But class were grouped by age (dump).
Eventually a Teacher worked with me and in one year, I redid 9th-11th grade English after school. (Not that it shows as I type, LOL).

Anyways, I could not agree more. The ONLY thing I would think the DoE should do is provide open source software for the schools so they don't have to buy "Attendance and Grade Tracking Software". Maybe purchase and make available educational computer software, etc.

But as it is, and as I know it will become. It's better to shut it down!