Michigan Congressman Tim Walberg, Chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, is speaking out following the Supreme Court’s recent decision, which allows the Trump administration to move forward with plans to rightsize the Department of Education.

Appearing on NewsMax, Walberg emphasized the need for a shift in how the country approaches education, urging that the federal government should reduce its regulatory burdens on K-12 systems. He said the public gave a clear mandate to address the nation’s education crisis in the November elections and that the goal is to empower students and states by reducing federal interference.

“While we have spent more money, we’ve also imposed more regulatory burdens on our K-12 systems. This has stripped control from states and led to declining test scores. We want to reverse this trend,” Walberg stated. “The President shares this goal, and with Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education, he has instructed her to focus on getting out of the way of local education initiatives that are proven to work.”

Walberg also addressed the heavy reliance on federal regulations that hinder effective teaching. Michigan, he pointed out, receives about 9 percent of its education funding from the federal government but is burdened with over 90 percent of the related bureaucratic red tape. This, he argued, consumes valuable time that could be spent on direct student engagement.

“If we focus on the key players-the student, the parent, and the teacher-we will succeed,” Walberg said. “This is the shared objective of the President, Secretary McMahon, myself, and the Education Committee in the House.”

The congressman also reflected on the history of the Department of Education, claiming that the nation’s educational system functioned more effectively before the department’s creation in 1980. He stressed that now is the time to recognize and celebrate the successes occurring at the state level.

“It’s time to wake up and find ways to applaud what’s working in our states and give students, parents, and teachers the freedom to succeed,” Walberg concluded.