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Notes -
Non-American here: what did the federal department of education do?
Schools/Colleges are done by the states?
In the US system, there are a number of programs where the Federal government collects money then gives it to the states to spend. Highways and higher education are two good examples. So States spend the money and run the universities but the financing has a significant federal portion. The Department of Education administrates the Federal portion of the spending as well as providing rules and guidelines for institutions that recieve that money.
Seems like a great way for the Federal to take over control of something they were not meant to be in control of.
Even worse, the funding is contingent on abiding the federal government’s whims.
Under Biden schools risked losing their funding for not accommodating transgender kids in bathrooms and on sports teams.
Now it’s probably going to be the opposite.
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Indeed, this is an argument that small-c conservatives and libertarians have been making for decades, but they lacked the backing from congress or the executive to press the issue.
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Ever since the Great Depression that's been a key tool of increased federal control over more and more things. You can see it in all sorts of things like the 55 mph speed limit (Montana's $5 enforcement was hilarious) to the dear colleague letter are just some examples of this.
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