In a Tuesday memo to the department, Walters calls for changing the allocation method for Every Student Succeeds Act funds to consolidated block grants. Also known as ESSA, the federal grants are designed to improve learning outcomes and equitable access to education.
Consolidated block grants are a type of federal funding where grants are combined into a lump sum allocated to states, which decide how to divide them.
The Trump administration recently called for Education Secretary Linda McMahon to “facilitate the closure of the Department of Education” and “return education authority to the states.”
Walters claims the current distribution process imposes “significant administrative burdens” on the state department and districts. He said a block grant approach would simplify management, reduce reporting requirements and allow for more targeted allocations.
In the proposal, Walters said Oklahoma schools would be sorted into need-based categories to “assist schools in establishing priorities, aid in decision making, and provide an effective basis for a comprehensive and continuous evaluation.”
Walters also proposes a “marketplace of solutions” that include resources for the implementation of classical curriculum — an ancient learning process that emphasizes grammar, analysis and rhetoric, sometimes associated with Christian principals — and private school choice programs that meet state accreditation standards, “enabling parents to select schools that align with their religious values.”
The news release for the announcement included comments of support from House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow), Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton (R-Tuttle), Senate Education Committee Chair Adam Pugh (R-Edmond) and House Education Oversight Committee Chair Dell Kerbs (R-Shawnee).
“President Trump’s decision to deliver on his campaign promise of working to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education aligns with our work to keep control of tax dollars in the hands of Oklahomans, not bureaucrats in Washington, D.C.,” Hilbert said in the release. “Oklahomans are best-equipped to determine what kind of education should look like for our students.”
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