A lot of people are raising their hackles over President Trump’s plans to end the Department of Education.  They need to relax.

I bet you the majority of those in earshot of this commentary went to school, and was likely very well educated, before the Department of Education even existed.  How did you possibly receive an education?  Can anyone truly say that education has improved in America since the Department was created in 1979?  Our outcomes have either been flat, or worsened.  To give a sense: about 40 percent of our fourth graders cannot read today, and most experts say literacy needs to be achieved by third grade to go forward in life and education.

The vast majority of education funding does not come from the federal government—about 90 percent comes from states and localities.  The few functions the Department could engage in that are critical, like civil rights and assessments, can easily be handled elsewhere and should be.

Ending the Department of Education as it is is ending the madness and finally heeding the long-ignored calls for common sense.