Did the shutdown really prove that the Department of Education should be dismantled? Experts say it actually showed how much it's needed.

"Days after U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the government shutdown proved how unnecessary the Department of Education is, the Trump administration announced plans to transition key department responsibilities to other government agencies - another step closer to eliminating the education department completely. In an opinion piece for USA Today earlier this week, McMahon said the 43-day shutdown showed "every family how unnecessary" the department is to their children's education."

""Students kept going to class. Teachers continued to get paid. There were no disruptions in sports seasons or bus routes," McMahon said. "The shutdown proved an argument that conservatives have been making for 45 years: The U.S. Department of Education is mostly a pass-through for funds that are best managed by the states." The former CEO of wrestling giant WWE said now that the shutdown is over, the department is "emboldened" to fulfill President Donald Trump's order to return education to the states."

McMahon argued the 43-day government shutdown showed the Department of Education is unnecessary, noting students attended class, teachers were paid, and services continued. The administration announced transfers of responsibilities to the State Department, Interior, Labor, and Health and Human Services, covering Title I funding, higher education grants, foreign language programs, college access initiatives, and support for minority-serving institutions. McMahon said ending a centralized Education Department would preserve federal support while shifting program management to states to improve service delivery and efficiency. McMahon acknowledged the department is "emboldened" to return education to states, without clarifying that elimination would require congressional action.

Read at The Mercury News