"Restoring Federalism in Education"

Unit: Federalism

Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-j-gentzel/restoring-federalism-in-e_b_8177738.html

Synopsis: In this article, Thomas J. Gentzel remarks upon relationship between federalism and education in the United States of America. The author argues that the central ideology has been twisted, or very nearly lost, after the growing power of the central government in the nation after responses to changing times and the modern age like terrorism. Since Congress makes up only a small part of the government, the power of the state and local governments are being seen as negligible through the eyes of many students in both high school and middle school. Gentzel proposes that the current connotation of federalism in the classroom is associated with the word "federal", conjuring images of the executive branch and figureheads in Congress. A possible venue that might cause this skewed belief to change and realize the role of state and local governments might exist in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) bills passed by the House of Representatives and Senate. These acts, though not flawless, emphasize the role of local levels of government in giving public school education. Some groups like the National School Boards Association and their state school board association counterparts see this movement of power as more beneficial opposed to the current situation without acts like ESEA.

Analysis: The best definition of federalism is where every level of government works together for the benefit of the citizenry. In the exposition of this article, the ESEA represents a significant win in the legal world for proponents behind a more federalist power distribution like cooperative federalism in the creation and implementation of education systems in the United States. In fact, this article was originally published in the American School Board Journal earlier in this week of October, 2015, an organization dedicated to informing the public about school government and changes in policy that affect the growing generation of citizens. Although the exact intergovernmental relations proposed through this bill are still being figured out in the legal workplace, it seems natural for the state and local government to have more power in public education. This act is not evidence of devolution; rather, national legislation fails to incorporate the unique needs of towns, counties, or states that might be subject to special circumstances. Yet according to the Supremacy Clause, education legislation must be followed by all states in the nation. For example, the recent Common Core State Standards prove difficulty for different schools in which the overall population is not aiming for standardized "success in college" but rather working towards a trade or another kind of vocational technical educational path. Hopefully the ESEA passes with a precedent for future education legislation in which greater personalization state-by-state is possible with local government feedback and regulation in education delivery.