A simple solution to this whole problem: ELIMINATE compulsory public school education, and ELIMINATE the federal department of education.
The decisions concerning the education of our children need to to be made at the most local level possible, and NONE of those decisions need the input of any government official or agency, period.
This education model worked just fine for the US for most of our history, and it was the advent of compulsory government education mandates when the whole institution started going downhill.
As for this asshat politician in Iowa, maybe he should be more concerned about the “angry parents who are going to show him what bullying really means”, because it may lead him to sponsor the “Iowa please don’t lynch the stupid politician who make’s incredibly stupid legislation” law.
While I agree that the federal Department of Education needs to be eliminated, it's incredibly naive to think it would be effective here. This ALREADY IS a state issue.
As for eliminating compulsory education, I think that is an incredibly shortsighted idea.
And before you jump to any conclusions, I am VERY much in favor of EVERY child either going to private schools or being homeschooled. Neither I nor anyone in my family attended public schools and I oppose public schools whenever possible. That being said, I am also aware that private schools or homeschooling simply isn't an option for every family, many families do not have the money for private schools and a great many parents (especially among the inner-city poor) are not educated enough to homeschool.
The decisions concerning the education of our children need to to be made at the most local level possible, and NONE of those decisions need the input of any government official or agency, period.
Do you want it done at the local level or do you want no government involvement at all? You can't have both.
Moreover, what makes you think that decisions made at the local level are any better than at the state or federal level? EVERY DAY we see stories of disgusting and asinine policies approved by local school boards or even individual schools themselves.
The libertarian notion that state and local governments somehow possess a "purity" that disappears at the federal level has absolutely no basis in fact.
This education model worked just fine for the US for most of our history, and it was the advent of compulsory government education mandates when the whole institution started going downhill.
While this sounds wonderful, it's not actually true. By the mid to late 19th century nearly all states had begun public education and were in the process of making it compulsory. The ONLY reason that not making education mandatory ever worked is due to the fact that America was almost entirely agrarian or industrial through the 19th century. It simply wouldn't work now.
The surest and quickest way to turn the United States into a third world nation (and I can assure you that ANYONE who believes we are one already has NEVER been to a third world nation) would be to eliminate public education and make education completely optional. What would arise within a decade or so would be a nearly permanent upper class and the majority of the middle class would be relegated to the lower class.
The decisions concerning the education of our children need to to be made at the most local level possible
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The **family** is the “most local level possible”.
Conservatives must begin the process of privatizing government owned and run K-12 schooling. Vouchers, tax credits, charters, on-line schooling, and homeschooling and homeschool co-ops can help build the private infrastructure...But!....The goal must always be “Complete Separation of School and State.!”