DeVos gets 300 days to chronicle federal education overreach

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has 300 days to come up with a list of ways in which the federal government has overstepped its education authority and make recommendations for remedying the problem. President Donald Trump gave DeVos her new assignment yesterday in an executive order aimed at filling one of his campaign promises: limiting Washington’s involvement in local classrooms. Trump said his order would restore local control: “We know that local communities do it best and know it best. The time has come to empower parents and teachers to make the decisions that help their students achieve success.” Public school supporters predictably lambasted the order, calling it especially unnecessary after Congress adopted the 2015 Every Student Succeeds Act that emphasizes local education decisions. But even after the new education bill, the Obama administration’s Education Department worked to increase federal influence through grants and incentives. It also made significant policy demands regarding transgender students, a directive Trump rescinded earlier this year.