Control of schools should be in local hands, not federal

"Were we directed from Washington when to sow, and when to reap, we should soon want bread."

-- Thomas Jefferson

As a small-government conservative and a strong proponent of the Constitution's 10th Amendment, I consistently advocate reducing the size and scope of our massive federal government. The Constitution envisions such a small central government. The 10th Amendment is rather clear: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people."

The federal government's involvement in education illustrates what happens when Washington gets too big.

First, let's have a show of hands. How many teachers and parents love the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law? Based on the feedback I've received from educators and concerned parents, NCLB doesn't have many fans. It is a perfect example of good intentions at the federal level gone awry.

NCLB is a federal, top-down attempt to improve education in America's schools -- a noble goal. If we can agree on anything, it's that our children should be well-educated and prepared for a life of productive citizenship.

As these things almost always turn out, federal meddling resulted in a one-size-fits-all approach that neglects local concerns and produces a grotesque layer of regulation and wasteful bureaucracy. In fact, NCLB singlehandedly burdened state and local educators with 6.7 million hours of paperwork, according to the Office of Management and Budget. This is no recipe for success.

That's only one reason we should get the federal government out of the business of education and return full control to state and local governments. Education can be a powerful force for good. Why risk letting cookie-cutter regulations and mandates from Washington distort such a powerful force? One word: money.

Many Americans think that local schools are utterly dependent on federal funding to survive. In a sense, they are right. As federal funding increases, local school systems slowly become dependent on that money.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics at the U.S. Department of Education, federal funding for K-12 education in the 1950s to mid-'60s accounted for 4 percent to 5 percent of total funding. In 1965, the precursor law to NCLB was passed, and the funding ratio jumped to about 8 percent. Throughout the balance of the '60s and '70s, federal funding hovered around 8 percent or 9 percent of total spending. Then in the '80s and '90s, the federal government provided closer to 6 percent or 7 percent of total funding.

Finally, in the past decade, the number began to creep up, so that today, federal dollars account for about 9 percent of education funding. In today's dollars, federal education funding has doubled since the 1990s, from $500 to $1,000 per student.

If only all that federal money resulted in better education. Sadly, that is not the case. A 2008 report from the federal Office of Management and Budget found that of 93 programs and departments at the Department of Education, 48, or more than half, were rated "not performing."

Even worse, the National Center for Fair and Open Testing reports that the high-school class of 2009, educated under NCLB since 5th grade, is "not better prepared for college or the workforce, based on ACT or SAT scores."

Most Americans also give the federal government low marks when it comes to education. A 2008 Gallup poll found that only 21 percent of Americans thought the federal government did a good job in the area of education.

Let's review. Over the past three decades federal funding of K-12 education accounted for between 6 and 9 percent of total funding. Federal education funding per student has doubled since 1990. Yet, most federal education programs are "not performing." Students are not receiving a better education. At the same time, the federal government accounts for the lion's share of the rules and regulations.

It's time for a change. We need to get federal bureaucrats off the backs of parents, local educators and school systems.

For the past several years I have co-sponsored a bill called the A-PLUS Act (H.R. 1717) that addresses these shortcomings. It gives states the freedom to pursue state-specific solutions that work. It also reduces burdensome regulations associated with federal education programs so that educators can focus on teaching rather than paperwork.

Under the A-PLUS Act, states would be allowed to consolidate federal education programs and funding and then direct these resources toward innovative solutions that result in successful schools. In exchange for this freedom, the states would guarantee transparency in student academic results. It's all about more local control and less federal control.

Today we waste billions of dollars on Washington bureaucrats running programs that don't work. Wouldn't we be better off putting that money back in the hands of the people who know the students and school districts best? The A-PLUS Act could be the first step in the direction of restoring full local ownership of education and removing a wasteful and unconstitutional middleman from the equation.

Rep. Virginia Foxx represents the 5th Congressional District of North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Journal welcomes original submissions for North Carolina Voices on local, regional and statewide topics. Essay length should not exceed 750 words. The writer should have some authority for writing about his or her subject. Our e-mail address is: Letters@wsjournal.com. You may also mail a typed essay to: Letters to the Journal, P.O. Box 3159, Winston-Salem, NC 27102. Please include your name and address and a daytime telephone number.