Education Secretary McMahon launches four-state tour to shift control to states and parents

Education Secretary Linda McMahon kicked off a four-state speaking series called “The Next 250: American Education,” emphasizing a shift of power from the federal Department of Education to state and local authorities. Beginning in Utah, the tour will proceed to Nevada, Arizona and Tennessee, where she plans to address issues like workforce training, Pell Grants for community-college students and the rising cost of higher education.

Officials cite $3 trillion in federal education spending and only three in ten students meeting proficiency standards as justification for the push. The tour aligns with a larger 50-state “Returning Education to the States” effort and follows a White House back-to-school event featuring President Donald Trump, who promoted school-choice measures and pledged to remove “far-left extremism” from classrooms. A forthcoming Education Freedom Tax Credit, effective Jan. 1 2027, would give taxpayers a credit of up to $1,700 per individual for contributions to approved scholarship programs. An interagency agreement will also move student-loan functions to the Treasury Department as part of a broader plan to downsize the Education Department.