On the Senate floor, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) called to eliminate the Department of Education.
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00:00Thank you, Mr. President.
00:03Mr. President, with me today is one of my colleagues, Mr. Conno Domain, from my office.
00:16Mr. President, high school seniors throughout our country are looking forward to graduation,
00:24which is going to happen here in the next few months, in some cases weeks.
00:34The sad reality, though, is that some of these high school seniors won't be able to read.
00:42They won't be able to read their diplomas.
00:44In fact, students in several states have actually filed lawsuits against their schools
00:56for failing to teach them basic skills like reading and math.
01:03One student plaintiff actually alleged in his petition that he can't spell his name.
01:18And he's a high school senior.
01:21And it brings me no pleasure to point this out.
01:24We all know we have a problem with elementary and secondary education in America.
01:30But the truth is that some, not all, but some of our schools here in America have become failure factories.
01:39And our kids are falling behind their global competitors in just about every category.
01:45Not just reading, not just writing, not just math, also science.
01:51We live in the freest, most prosperous country in all of human history.
02:00And yet American kids rank 22nd, 22nd, not in all 195 countries in the world,
02:10but 22nd among developed nations in terms of our education achievement.
02:20It's embarrassing.
02:23And the American people deserve better.
02:26So do American kids.
02:30In 1979, President Carter established the Department of Education.
02:39As you know, Mr. President, it's a cabinet-level agency.
02:42Its purpose was to improve education outcomes throughout the country.
02:49I want to read you what the department's mission is supposed to be.
02:53I'm quoting here.
02:55The Department of Education is supposed to, quote,
02:59promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness
03:07by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access, end quote.
03:14Pretty words.
03:17Pretty words.
03:19That's all they are.
03:22Just empty, pretty words.
03:25The results have been anything but excellent.
03:35This chart represents reading skills among our kids in America.
03:41Down here, mathematic skills.
03:45This is when we started the Department of Education way back here, 1979.
03:51This is where we are today.
03:57The line, we're doing a little better in math,
04:00but the line for reading is basically flat.
04:05And the line for mathematics is not exactly steep.
04:09The truth is that our scores, both for reading and math,
04:17have not improved appreciably in decades.
04:21And any progress that we have seen from the Department of Education's long tenure,
04:28which is very little, you can see the numbers,
04:32they speak for themselves,
04:33they disappeared during the pandemic
04:37when people in power decided
04:42to close down our schools.
04:49Funding for the Department of Education
04:51has far outpaced spending in the rest of federal government.
04:55If you compare spending just for the Department of Education
04:58to spending in the rest of the federal government,
05:02the difference is dramatic.
05:05Since 1980, the Department of Education spending
05:08has increased by 370%.
05:12370%.
05:16All other forms of spending have increased on average about 195%.
05:21Yet the scores remain stagnant.
05:27Both for reading and for math.
05:31Now, looking at these numbers,
05:33I think it's pretty clear
05:35why President Trump
05:36is calling for us
05:38to shut down
05:40the Department of Education altogether.
05:42He wants to, as we know,
05:44he wants to return education
05:45to our states.
05:47Louisiana provides a perfect example
05:53of why that's a good idea.
05:57I want to be clear.
05:59I'm not saying that
06:00Louisiana public education
06:02and secondary education
06:03is perfect.
06:07We're not well.
06:10But we are doing much better.
06:14Over the past few years,
06:16Louisiana has actually outpaced
06:18the rest of the country
06:19in several measures
06:21of academic improvement
06:23and academic achievement
06:25in our K-12 schools.
06:27According to the nation's report card,
06:30that's what everybody looks to,
06:32the nation's report card
06:33is put out every year
06:35by the Department of Education
06:36grading our states
06:39on progress in elementary
06:40and secondary education.
06:42It might be the only decent thing
06:43the Department of Education does.
06:46I forget the formal name of it,
06:49but we all refer to it
06:50as the nation's report card.
06:54And according to that report card,
06:56Louisiana led the country
06:59in reading growth in 2024.
07:03And I want to show you that here
07:06in a second in the chart,
07:07but first I want to go back.
07:09I should have emphasized this.
07:13Once again,
07:14these are the average reading
07:16and math scores
07:17for all the kids in America
07:19since the Department of Education
07:21was established.
07:24Flat line,
07:26mostly flat line,
07:27but look what happened here.
07:30A dramatic drop.
07:32dramatic drop
07:36in both math
07:37and education scores.
07:40That's the pandemic.
07:44That's what happened
07:45when people in power
07:48decided to shut down
07:50our schools.
07:51Now,
07:53it was more than one person.
07:56I understand that.
07:58But,
08:02it was,
08:02for all the people
08:03who made this decision,
08:07they should hide their heads
08:09in a bag.
08:11I mean,
08:12look what happened.
08:13We shut down our schools.
08:15We had the largest
08:16learning loss
08:18in modern history.
08:21That's just a fact.
08:24Now,
08:25some people are going
08:26to disagree with me.
08:29And I'm not saying
08:30that if they disagree with me,
08:33they're dumb.
08:34But I'm saying
08:35if they disagree with me,
08:38they better hope
08:39the dumbest person
08:40in the world
08:40doesn't die
08:41because they're going
08:43to take their place.
08:45But I want to come back.
08:47Let me go to Louisiana
08:48for a second.
08:49We didn't shut down
08:50our schools
08:50but for a short period of time.
08:54And you can see
08:54the results in this chart.
08:56Between 2019
08:57and 2024,
09:00Louisiana
09:01fourth graders
09:02went from ranking
09:03dead last
09:05in the country
09:05for reading proficiency.
09:08Here we are.
09:1048.
09:11To ranking 16th.
09:14I'm very proud of that.
09:17Math scores
09:18also steadily increased.
09:20Louisiana climbed
09:20from being ranked
09:2150th
09:23to 38.
09:25We went from
09:2650th to 38
09:28and 48
09:29to 16th best
09:31in our country.
09:34Louisiana made
09:35this growth
09:36happen
09:36during the pandemic
09:38and afterwards.
09:40That was
09:41dependent
09:42was probably
09:42one of the most
09:43challenging
09:44educational periods
09:46in our country's history.
09:48Parents remember it.
09:49I remember it.
09:50Even if your kids
09:51are grown,
09:52you remember it.
09:53It was difficult
09:54for kids
09:56to try to learn
09:56from home.
09:58It was a disaster.
10:01Shutting down
10:02these schools
10:02was a disaster
10:04and American kids
10:05suffered
10:05because of it.
10:07According to the
10:08Education Recovery
10:09Scorecard,
10:10which measures
10:11how much
10:12of the loss
10:15we were able
10:16to gain back,
10:18American students,
10:20I'm talking about
10:21all kids
10:21throughout America,
10:22are still
10:23one half
10:24of a grade
10:25behind
10:26where students
10:27were
10:27when they were
10:29tested
10:29before the pandemic.
10:30On average,
10:32we lost
10:32a half a grade.
10:34In many states,
10:36the academic loss
10:37was a full year.
10:38And that means
10:39that fourth graders
10:40today
10:41can only read
10:42as well as
10:43third graders
10:44prior to the pandemic.
10:46This is an entire
10:47generation of kids
10:48who fell behind
10:51because our people
10:53in power
10:53decided to shut
10:54down our schools.
10:56And many
10:56of our states,
10:58despite the billions
10:59of dollars
10:59that we appropriated
11:01to help them,
11:02have failed
11:02to catch up.
11:06I'm going to
11:07say it again.
11:07The people
11:08who insisted
11:08on shutting
11:10down our schools
11:11during the pandemic
11:13are responsible
11:15for the largest
11:16learning loss
11:17in modern history.
11:20It was dumb,
11:22dumb,
11:22dumb.
11:24And again,
11:25I'm not saying
11:27the people
11:27that made that decision
11:28to shut down,
11:29the schools
11:30in America
11:31are the dumbest
11:32people in the world,
11:33but they better hope
11:34the dumbest people
11:35in the world
11:35don't die.
11:40Louisiana,
11:41though,
11:41managed to thrive
11:43during this period
11:44and afterwards.
11:45Why is that?
11:47Because we looked
11:48around
11:48at what our friends
11:49and our neighbors
11:50were doing in America
11:51and across the world.
11:53and we didn't
11:55go with the flow.
11:58Only dead fish
11:59go with the flow.
12:00We didn't go
12:01with the flow.
12:03We said,
12:04let's look at
12:04what other countries
12:05are doing
12:06and working
12:06and what other states
12:08are doing
12:08and working
12:10and that's what
12:10we did.
12:11First,
12:12we started giving
12:14our teachers
12:15the tools
12:16they needed
12:16to teach
12:17and that's important.
12:20In 2021,
12:21I remember it
12:22like it was yesterday,
12:23our state legislature
12:24passed a law
12:25mandating that all
12:27K-3 teachers
12:29receive advanced
12:30training
12:31in the very best
12:32methods
12:33of teaching reading.
12:35Reading is fundamental.
12:36If you can't read,
12:40nothing else matters
12:42in terms of
12:43educational progress.
12:45So we sought out
12:46the best methods
12:48for teaching kids
12:50from kindergarten
12:50to the third grade,
12:52the best methods
12:53to teach reading.
12:55We found them
12:56and we educated
12:58our teachers
12:58in those methods
12:59and it worked.
13:03We tried to make it
13:05the case
13:06so that no kid
13:07makes it to
13:08graduation day
13:09in Louisiana
13:10without being able
13:11to read.
13:13In fact,
13:14we passed another law
13:15a couple of years ago.
13:17I worked very hard
13:18on this.
13:19It says,
13:20if you're in the third grade,
13:22at the end of the third grade,
13:23you're going to be tested
13:24for reading
13:25and if you can't read
13:28at a third grade level,
13:29we're going to retest you again
13:30and if you can't read
13:33at a third grade level
13:34at the end of the third grade,
13:36we're going to test you
13:37one more time
13:37and if you still fail,
13:40you're not going
13:41to the fourth grade.
13:43You're going to stay
13:44in the third grade
13:45until you learn
13:46how to read.
13:47You might be 16 years old
13:49in the third grade
13:50but by God,
13:52you're not going
13:53to the fourth grade
13:53until you can learn
13:54how to read.
13:56Now,
13:56we don't just leave
13:57the kids on their own.
13:58If they can't read
14:00at the end of the third grade
14:01after being tested
14:02a couple of times,
14:03we give them
14:04what we call
14:05high dosage tutoring.
14:07We tutor them
14:08and tutor them
14:09and tutor them
14:10until they can read
14:12and then they can move on
14:14because you know
14:16when kids drop out of school,
14:20kids don't drop out of school
14:21in the 10th or the 11th
14:23and the 12th grade.
14:24They drop out of school
14:25in the second grade,
14:26in the third grade
14:27when they can't learn
14:29how to read
14:30and nobody cares.
14:32They're just socially promoted.
14:34We stopped doing that
14:35in Louisiana.
14:39We also started
14:40giving parents a choice
14:42in public education.
14:46You know,
14:46competition makes us better.
14:48Makes you better.
14:49Makes me better.
14:50Competition makes
14:51all of us better.
14:54Most parents,
14:55not all,
14:56most parents
14:57are far more invested
14:59in their kids'
15:01academic success
15:02than any teacher.
15:04I don't care
15:04how well-meaning
15:05the teacher is,
15:06than any teacher,
15:07any school administrator,
15:09or any federal bureaucrat.
15:11And most parents,
15:13not all unfortunately,
15:15but most parents
15:16in America
15:17do not want
15:19their kids
15:19to be stuck
15:20in a school
15:21where violence
15:23is common
15:23and learning
15:24is rare.
15:25They don't.
15:28Now,
15:28several states
15:29throughout the country,
15:30I'm going to mention
15:31four in particular,
15:32but they're not
15:32the only ones.
15:33I'm going to mention
15:33Florida,
15:35Iowa,
15:36North Dakota,
15:36and Utah.
15:37Congratulations
15:38to them all.
15:39they have implemented
15:41successfully
15:42school choice
15:43programs.
15:46Utah's may be
15:46the best,
15:47Mr. President.
15:49This gives
15:50parents the ability,
15:52just what it says,
15:53it gives parents
15:53a choice.
15:55They can send
15:55their kid
15:56to a public school.
15:58They can send
15:59their kid
15:59to a private school.
16:00They can send
16:01their child
16:02to a charter school.
16:03Charter schools
16:04are tuition-free.
16:06Charter schools
16:06are public schools.
16:07They're tuition-free,
16:09but they're not run
16:10by the education
16:12bureaucracy.
16:14They're almost
16:15always run
16:15by parents
16:16and caring adults.
16:19They don't have
16:20to follow
16:20all the red tape
16:21in their local
16:22school district.
16:24They can experiment.
16:26They're independent.
16:28They're free.
16:30And they work.
16:34Every state,
16:35every one of these
16:35states that I mention,
16:36and their programs
16:37are different.
16:39But each state
16:40that I mention,
16:41and I want to mention
16:42them again
16:42because they deserve praise,
16:44Utah, North Dakota,
16:46Iowa, and Florida,
16:48they all have
16:49a few things
16:50in common.
16:52They all allow
16:53parents to decide
16:54which school
16:55will get their kid's
16:56share of state
16:57and federal tax dollars.
16:59as you know,
17:01Mr. President,
17:03we fund our public
17:05schools
17:05through three sources
17:07of revenue.
17:09The largest
17:09is usually
17:10local government.
17:11In my state,
17:12about half of the money
17:13comes from local government.
17:16About 40%
17:17comes from the state government,
17:19and about 10%
17:19comes from the federal government.
17:21So it's mostly
17:22local money,
17:23but it's also
17:24state money
17:24to a large extent,
17:26and some federal money.
17:27But these are all
17:28tax dollars.
17:32In these states
17:33that I just described,
17:34if parents
17:35are happy
17:36with the current
17:37public school
17:38that their child
17:38is enrolled in,
17:39they can tell the state,
17:41okay,
17:41spend that money
17:42per child
17:43that I just described
17:44in my child's school.
17:46I'm happy
17:47with my current school.
17:48But if the parents
17:49aren't happy,
17:51they can seek
17:52another school
17:53that's a better fit
17:54and move that money.
17:57They can choose
17:58to take their child's
17:59funding
18:00to a different school
18:01to give that kid
18:03a better outcome.
18:04This gives parents
18:05a choice.
18:07But it also,
18:08you know what else
18:08it does?
18:10It gets some
18:11of our schools
18:11off their ice-cold
18:13lazy butts.
18:15It makes schools
18:17compete.
18:19And competition
18:20makes all of us
18:22better.
18:23There have been
18:23a number of studies
18:24of school choice states
18:27and almost all of them
18:28have found
18:29that these programs,
18:30this program of choice,
18:32you get to choose
18:33which public school
18:34you want your child
18:36to go to
18:36or you can send
18:37your child
18:38to a private school.
18:40This choice
18:42results in
18:43higher test scores,
18:44higher parental satisfaction,
18:46and higher student safety.
18:47Last year,
18:48Louisiana joined
18:49the choice movement.
18:50I'm very proud of that.
18:54Our legislature
18:55passed a school
18:56choice program,
18:57we call it
18:58the Gator Act.
19:01Starting this fall,
19:02certain students,
19:03not all of our kids,
19:04we're going to
19:05eventually ramp it up
19:06so that it does
19:07impact all of our kids,
19:08but certain of our kids
19:10will be able to
19:10tap into state-funded
19:12education savings accounts
19:14that parents can use
19:15to pay for their child
19:17to attend a different
19:18public or a different
19:19private or a different
19:20charter school.
19:21And our goal is
19:23three years.
19:24In three years,
19:25every student in Louisiana
19:26will be eligible
19:28to participate
19:30in this choice program.
19:32Now, I want to say it again.
19:33I'm not saying
19:33Louisiana schools are perfect.
19:35I am not saying that.
19:37But it is undeniable
19:38that we're on the right track.
19:40We are.
19:42We stayed open
19:44for the most part
19:44during the pandemic.
19:46We've trained our teachers.
19:49We've established standards.
19:51You can't go to the fourth grade
19:52until you can read.
19:53And we've implemented
19:55parental choice.
19:58I think President Trump,
20:01and I don't want to just
20:02limit this to the Republicans,
20:04many of my Democratic colleagues
20:06believe in choice as well,
20:08that sometimes they can't
20:09be as vocal about it.
20:11But I know I've talked to them.
20:13They understand,
20:14as does the White House,
20:16that America's future
20:18is sitting in these classrooms
20:19every day
20:20throughout the country.
20:22I've said it a zillion times,
20:23a squillion times in Louisiana.
20:25The key to Louisiana's future
20:27is not the price of oil.
20:29It's not what
20:30the unemployment rate is.
20:31It's not who the senator is
20:32or the governor is.
20:34It's education.
20:35And the status quo
20:37in America isn't working.
20:39We didn't make it any better
20:40as a result of our behavior
20:42with respect to the pandemic.
20:44And we're behind,
20:45but we can catch up
20:46if we just do the right things.
20:49One of those things
20:50is returning education
20:51to the states.
20:52I hope we do dismantle
20:54the Department of Education.
20:55It's basically a conduit
20:57for money,
20:58except that money goes
21:00through the Department of Education
21:02and the 4,000 employees there.
21:04And they all put a condition
21:06on the money
21:08as if they knew
21:10what was best for each state.
21:11They don't.
21:12We ought to dismantle
21:13the Department of Education
21:15and send that money
21:16directly to the states.
21:19Thank you, Mr. President.
21:21Thank you for your courtesy.
21:24And congratulations
21:25on the progress
21:26that the wonderful state of Utah
21:28has made in elementary
21:31and secondary education.
21:34Mr. President,
21:35I yield the floor.