Lauren Boebert Says She Wants To Abolish the Department of Education

Lauren Boebert has called for the Department of Education to be abolished as part of a bid to get “the federal government completely out of public schools.”

The House Republican was speaking on Friday in support of amendments to the Parents Bill of Rights legislation, which passed the chamber by a 213-208 vote but is unlikely to be approved by the Senate.

Education has emerged as a top culture war dividing line between Democrats and Republicans, with both sides accusing the other of undermining academic freedom, via ‘cancel culture’ and ‘book bans’ respectively.

Lauren Boebert pictured in the House
Lauren Boebert (R-CO) participates in a meeting of the House Oversight and Reform Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on January 31, 2023 in Washington, DC. On Friday the Colorado Republican called for the Department of Education to be abolished.KEVIN DIETSCH/GETTY

Boebert proposed two amendments to the Parents Bill of Rights legislation, both of which were approved, which would require schools to notify parents if “biological males,” who identify as women, were competing in women’s sports or being given access to female restrooms.

During the debate, Boebert suggested she would like to go further and end federal involvement in education. She commented: “I’m more in favor of abolishing the federal Department of Education, and getting the federal government completely out of public schools, but we’re not there now and we do fund public schools.”

A 14-second clip of this exchange was shared on Twitter by Ron Filipkowski, who claims to “monitor and report right-wing extremism,” where it accumulated more than 500,000 views.

Newsweek has contacted Boebert by email requesting more details about her proposal to disband the Department of Education, and whether she would like to see an end to all federal funding of public schools.

The Parents Bill of Rights is a piece of Republican-supported legislation that would require schools to publish their curricula and provide parents with lists of books available in the school library.

Whilst it passed the House it is almost certain to fall short in the Senate, where the Democrats have a majority.

Arguing for the legislation, House Republican Julia Letlow, one of the bill’s sponsors, said: “It is not an attempt to have Congress dictate their curriculum or determine the books in the library.

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