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Some state education chiefs aren鈥檛 wasting any time letting the new administration know what they want. 

A dozen state leaders, all from Republican-led states, wrote to Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump鈥檚 education secretary nominee, last week asking her to push for greater state control over federal education funds and to avoid issuing guidance they say is 鈥渘ot anchored in law.鈥�

In the Jan. 28 letter, shared exclusively with 麻豆精品, they also want McMahon, former head of World Wrestling Entertainment, to send large buckets of funding for schools, like Title I money for low-income students, as a block grant. But they stopped short of stating support for abolishing the U.S. Department of Education 鈥� President Donald Trump鈥檚 top education policy goal. 

鈥淏y prioritizing state leadership and flexibility, the Trump administration can unleash the full potential of America鈥檚 schools and students,鈥� they wrote. 鈥淧lease defer to state and local decision-making as much as possible.鈥�

The letter outlines conservative chiefs鈥� priorities as Trump takes aggressive steps to reshape the federal role in education. He frequently to 鈥渟end education back to the states鈥� and is expected to issue an executive order before the end of the month that would call on Congress to close the department.

The memo offers specifics that have been lacking in many discussions over how the relationship between the federal government and the states might change. But some experts wonder if the freedom GOP leaders seek will leave high-need students without services currently provided under law. Madi Biedermann, a department spokeswoman, confirmed they鈥檇 received the letter, but said officials wouldn鈥檛 share it with McMahon until she鈥檚 confirmed. 

The 12 leaders who penned the letter, both elected and appointed, are from Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming. 

Oklahoma state Superintendent Ryan Walters was not among them, despite the fact that he has been the most vocal about and at one point, threatened to . 

The proposals should provide additional talking points for committee members during McMahon鈥檚 confirmation hearing Feb. 13. While it would require congressional approval, the chiefs want to see the of funding under the Every Student Succeeds Act 鈥� like Title I and Title III for English learners 鈥� consolidated into a single block grant for 鈥渕aximum flexibility.鈥� 

They want to design their own formulas for distributing the money to districts so they can address the needs of rural areas, for example, and state-specific learning initiatives. In the meantime, they want the new secretary to grant as many waivers as possible from the accountability requirements of the law so they can 鈥減resent new ideas鈥� for how to spend the money.

鈥楧ilute the protections鈥�

Rebecca Sibilia, executive director of EdFund, a research and policy organization, said she wasn鈥檛 surprised that the chiefs didn鈥檛 advocate eliminating the education department outright. Many of their states on federal funds and spend less state money on schools. The department, she said, is doing those states 鈥渁 great service.鈥�

While some state leaders might view the federal requirements as 鈥渙verly burdensome,鈥� she said their push for more control could come at the expense of students who require extra help, like those in poverty, English learners and homeless students. 

鈥淥nce you start blending all of those titles together you start to really dilute the protections that are going to individual students,鈥� she said. 

The letter doesn鈥檛 mention the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which under , would move to the Department of Health and Human Services.

鈥淚DEA oversight is giving some people pause,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat piece of legislation is very specific to education.鈥�

Congressional Democrats, meanwhile, say they have 鈥渟erious concerns鈥� about any attempts to shutter the department. On Thursday, they to Acting Education Secretary Denise Carter asking for more transparency on how the department plans to continue running programs it oversees, like financial aid and afterschool programs.

鈥淲e will not stand by and allow the impact that dismantling the Department of Education would have on the nation鈥檚 students, parents, borrowers, educators and communities,鈥� they wrote.

In their letter, the state chiefs pushed back on the department鈥檚 practice of using 鈥渄ear colleague鈥� letters to enforce its priorities, which they said have often been 鈥渢reated as legally binding policy.鈥� Guidance from the department, they said, should merely be a suggestion 鈥渟o as not to force behavior change.鈥�  

During the Obama administration, for example, Republicans fought guidance that said students should be able to use bathrooms that match their and another that said districts could risk civil rights investigations if Black and Hispanic students were . 

On Wednesday, the Education Department issued stating that it would no longer enforce the Biden administration鈥檚 Title IX rule, which extended protections to LGBTQ students, and that any investigations based on the 2024 rule would be 鈥渞eevaluated.鈥� 

Nat Malkus, deputy director of education policy at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said he hopes Trump honors the chiefs鈥� request, but noted the 鈥渃haos鈥� that has marked Trump鈥檚 first few weeks in office. Trump鈥檚 efforts to freeze federal funding have been . And even some have questioned Elon Musk鈥檚 authority to gain access to government payment systems and disable an agency that provides foreign aid.

鈥淭he 鈥榩en and phone鈥� approach, to quote Obama, whipsaws state leaders across administrations and is lousy federal governance,鈥� he said. 鈥淢y worry is less about the secretary nominee and more about the 鈥榤ove fast and break things鈥� approach we鈥檝e seen so far in many other dimensions of this young administration.鈥�

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