Tennessee education committee backs resolution urging dismantling of U.S. Department of Education

Leader Zachary introduced Senate Joint Resolution 650 and told the committee the U.S. Department of Education has expanded federal control without improving student outcomes, saying Tennessee should be prepared to assume education responsibilities if the federal department is closed.

"The federal department has not delivered results that justify its existence," Leader Zachary said, arguing that inflation-adjusted K–12 spending per pupil has roughly tripled since the 1970s while long-term NAEP reading and math scores remain flat. He urged the governor to establish a task force to prepare the state for an eventual closing of the Department of Education and said Tennessee could administer education ‘‘the Tennessee way’’ with fewer federal reporting burdens.

The resolution prompted questions from members about concrete program impacts and funding flows. Regent McKenzie challenged the historical comparisons and inflation calculations, asking which federal programs would be affected if the department were dismantled and citing programs including free and reduced-price lunch, Title I, special education, career and technical education and an item she referenced as "Veil grama." "So which one of these programs are you saying that we need to potentially do away with?" she asked.

President Johnson, who identified herself as a former special-education teacher, urged caution. She said Tennessee receives roughly $4,000,000,000 in federal education funds and that those dollars support special education, Title I, CTE, Pell Grants and adult education. "Those federal dollars . . . are needed," she said, adding there is "no guarantee" those funds would continue without a federal department. She described locally driven decisions about how federal money is spent in schools and said federal requirements largely ensure civil-rights protections and program accountability.

Leader Zachary responded that his figures were inflation-adjusted and pointed to Tennessee's experience with a Medicaid block-grant arrangement and shared savings as a precedent for state-managed programs. He said the resolution urges the federal government to continue steps toward dismantling the department and asks the governor to prepare the state for that possibility. "If we do it the Tennessee way, there'll be great results," he said.

Regent Hakim pressed for specifics on how the state would prevent unequal outcomes, warning that fewer federal dollars could produce "haves and have-nots" among districts if the state did not fully replace funds. The sponsor reiterated that Tennessee is a donor state and could retain more resources locally if freed from federal strings and that state accountability would follow.

The committee moved the previous question to end debate. The clerk reported the vote as 16 ayes and 3 nays; the chair announced that Senate Joint Resolution 650 had "received a majority" and would move out to calendar rules. The committee adjourned thereafter.

The record shows the resolution is an expression of the committee's position and asks the governor to form a task force; it does not itself dismantle any federal program or change funding. Specific implementation steps, program-by-program replacements and any legislative authorizations to assume federal functions were not specified during the committee's discussion.