The winding down of the Department of Education has left many in Georgia’s education system uncertain about how to handle the future. However, small steps were taken during the Georgia General Assembly to navigate it.
Senate Bill (SB) 154 offered a simple administrative change that switches references from the Department of Education to add “or its successor.”
Sen. Bo Hatchett (R – Cornelia) said the change is needed to allow Georgia to maintain accreditation for professionals like nurses and dentists once the DOE is abolished. The Senate and House passed it and the bill was sent to the governor for his signature.
The bill has gone unsigned by Gov. Brian Kemp, but he has until May 14 to sign or veto legislation passed by the 2025 assembly.
Confusion Over DOE Ending
The Department of Education, instituted by President Jimmy Carter through an act of Congress, hasn’t ended. While it can be defunded or duties moved, only Congress can abolish it.
Republican senators introduced a bill to close the Department of Education in early April. The Returning Education to Our States Act was sponsored by Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) and co-sponsored by Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind), and Tim Sheehy (R-Mont). Rounds said the DOE grew to an “oversized bureaucracy that dictates one-size-fits-all policies, standards, and practices for students across the nation.”
Trump’s EO
President Donald Trump initiated an executive order transferring many responsibilities to other departments. The Department of Justice will handle civil rights enforcement and the U.S. Treasury will take over federal student loan programs. Health and Human Services will oversee special education.
The DOE is operating on less than half its previous staff. The DOE is still being funded according to the budget set by Congress.
Trump said that he wants money sent to the DOE to go directly to the states for local governments to decide how to spend it on schools. The idea is that money will be available to the states because of DOE cost-cutting measures. Federal education funding totals approximately $150 billion annually.
Mississippi Success Story
Some states, like Mississippi, aren’t waiting to see what happens. The southern state received nationwide attention this year for having the largest growth in fourth-grade reading and math scores from 2013 to 2024. The news comes from the National Assessment of Education Progress. Mississippi fourth graders had higher scores than the national average for the first time last year.
The route to success for Mississippi started in 2007 when the state realized its standardized testing was far easier than those given in national exams. Mississippi students were constantly behind the nation on national standardized test scores.
So, they began raising the bar every year. Mississippi scores increased in all grade and subject areas of the national exam through 2017. It narrowed a 71 percent gap in reading test scores between Mississippi students and the national average to 4 points.
Those studying Mississippi’s success point to specific changes. The state created new, tougher academic standards that aligned with national expectations. The state created a new assessment that followed the NAEP test to ensure students were taught the same concepts found in the national exam. Finally, it focused on literacy. State legislation passed in 2013 required students to be able to read at or above their grade level.
Melody Dareing is a freelance writer working for publications in the U.S., Canada, the UK, and Germany. She is a former news director of Adelphia Channel 4 and WBHF Radio.