Senate Joint Resolution 2012 - Introduced SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 2012 BY COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION (SUCCESSOR TO SJR 2008) SENA TE JOINT RESOLUTION A Joint Resolution supporting devolution of power from the 1 United States department of education to the states. 2 WHEREAS, the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the 3 United States reserves powers not delegated to the federal 4 government to the states, and education is not enumerated as a 5 responsibility of the federal government; and 6 WHEREAS, the United States department of education’s 7 creation in 1980 has led to significant federal overreach in 8 education through burdensome regulations and one-size-fits-all 9 mandates; and 10 WHEREAS, despite an annual budget of $60 billion and another 11 $276 billion in one-time spending for COVID-19 recovery 12 efforts, fourth and eighth grade reading scores remain roughly 13 unchanged since the early 1990s when national measurements 14 first began; and 15 WHEREAS, states and local communities possess unique 16 knowledge of their students’ educational needs and are best 17 positioned to develop the curriculum and policies that reflect 18 their values and priorities; and 19 WHEREAS, President Trump has publicly expressed a desire 20 to eliminate the United States department of education and 21 rightfully put the states back in charge of education; and 22 WHEREAS, the elimination of the United States department of 23 education is not only a constitutional necessity, but will also 24 cause taxpayer dollars to be spent more efficiently and lead to 25 better student outcomes; NOW THEREFORE, 26 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 27 TLSB 5699SV (1) 91 mb/jh

S.J.R. 2012 That the General Assembly of the State of Iowa supports 1 federal efforts to eliminate the United States department 2 of education and urges the United States Congress to fully 3 cooperate with these efforts. 4 EXPLANATION 5 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 6 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 7 This joint resolution supports the devolution of power from 8 the United States department of education to the states. 9 The Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States 10 reserves powers not delegated to the federal government to the 11 states, and education is not enumerated as a responsibility 12 of the federal government. The resolution provides that 13 the United States department of education has resulted in 14 burdensome regulations and general mandates, and that high 15 levels of spending have not resulted in an increase in student 16 reading scores. 17 The resolution provides that states and local communities 18 are best positioned to develop curriculum and policies because 19 they possess unique knowledge of their students’ educational 20 needs, that President Trump has expressed a desire to eliminate 21 the United States department of education, and that such 22 elimination will result in taxpayer dollars being spent more 23 efficiently. 24 The resolution states that the General Assembly supports 25 federal efforts to eliminate the United States department 26 of education and urges the United States Congress to fully 27 cooperate with these efforts. 28 -1- LSB 5699SV (1) 91 mb/jh 1/ 1