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Sponsor says state control would improve outcomes; cites spending and test trends
Summary
Deputy Speaker Zachary argued SJR 650 is needed because he says federal spending has increased while NAEP scores remained flat; he urged a task force to ready Tennessee for state-led education if federal authority is removed.
Deputy Speaker Zachary presented the rationale for SJR 650 by arguing that education is primarily a state responsibility under the 10th Amendment and that the U.S. Department of Education has expanded federal control without improving outcomes. "Education is a state and local responsibility," he said, and later added, "The department is the definition of bureaucracy without results."
He offered quantitative claims to support his point: that inflation-adjusted K–12 spending per pupil has roughly tripled since 1970 while NAEP long-term reading and math scores for 17-year-olds have been flat; that the federal department employs about 4,000 people and oversees roughly an $80,000,000,000 budget; and that Tennessee has secured extra funds under a Medicaid shared-savings plan that produce about $330,000,000 a year to spend on priorities including education. The sponsor encouraged a bipartisan, state-led plan and asked the governor to form a task force to prepare for transition if the federal department is dismantled.
