Michele Morrow, executive director of the National Alliance for Education Reform and former Republican candidate for state superintendent in North Carolina, has called for the dismantling of the US Department of Education, urging the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under Elon Musk’s leadership to take swift action.
During a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 10, Morrow accused the Education Department of contributing to the decline of educational standards in America while promoting political agendas.
“It’s been 45 years since President Carter established this department, resulting in 45 years of failure, bloated bureaucracy, and a grotesque manipulation of our children’s minds and bodies for wealth and political influence,” Morrow said during the event.
According to a statement from Morrow’s organization, the Education Department’s budget has ballooned from $12 billion in 1972 to $238 billion last year, yet reading literacy rates are at their lowest levels in over 30 years. Seven out of 10 fourth graders are not proficient in reading, and six out of 10 struggle with math.
“Instead of lining the pockets of bureaucrats at the Department of Education, we should be ensuring teachers have school supplies, classrooms are fully staffed, students are afforded tutors, and special needs students get their services,” Morrow said. “Bureaucrats have been picking the pockets of schoolteachers and students for far too long.”
Additionally, Morrow called for an investigation by DOGE into connections between the Education Department, the American Library Association, and the National Education Association. She said that these partnerships have introduced “radical agendas” into public education, straying from teaching basics like math and literacy.
Although dismantling the Education Department entirely would require congressional approval, DOGE has already made significant strides toward shrinking the department’s scope.
Under Musk’s guidance, DOGE has terminated nearly $900 million in contracts managed by the Institute of Education Sciences. It has also taken measures such as reducing staff, cutting redundant programs, and reallocating certain functions to other federal agencies.
These efforts, according to Morrow, are just the beginning of what must be a broader push to restore education governance to local communities and states.
After Morrow’s close loss to Democrat Moe Green in North Carolina’s state superintendent race, she founded the National Alliance for Education Reform to fulfill her campaign promises of combating woke ideologies in education and promoting traditional values.