A bill introduced today, by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and co-sponsored by U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, (R-MI) and six others, would abolish the federal Department of Education.

The bill is one page long and says, "the Department of Education shall terminate on December 31, 2018."

UPDATE (February 8 at 3:30PM): Corie Whalen, spokesperson for Rep. Amash, gave us this statement, further explaining Amash's reason for co-signing the bill:

Our Constitution reserves the power over education to the states, and Rep. Amash has consistently supported putting parents and teachers back in control. While relatively little federal money for public education comes from Washington, federal bureaucracy and mandates reduce the total amount of resources available to public schools and cannot properly account for the individualized needs of students.

The bill, H.R. 899, comes on the same day that Betsy DeVos has been confirmed as the new Secretary of Education.

Massie explained the bill, “Neither Congress nor the President, through his appointees, has the constitutional authority to dictate how and what our children must learn."

In 2004, Amash spoke out against Common Core standards, "I’m proud of the many parents, local school districts, and states that have resisted Common Core. I want them to know that they have partners in Congress working to roll back this harmful policy."

Amash's website includes the following statement on education, "I support returning control of schools to the local level. Parents and local communities should develop curriculum and testing standards for their students, not the federal government. The right of homeschooling must be protected."

Amash will be holding a town hall meeting on Thursday, February 9 at City High Middle School, 1720 Plainfield Ave. NE, from 6pm - 7pm.

The town hall is open to the public.

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