Feds’ role in schools re-emerges as 2012 issue

08-23-2011

By Ben Wolfgang/Washington Post

Republican presidential candidates are increasingly using the federal Department of Education as a punching bag, citing it as yet another example of big government’s heavy hand in local affairs. But this time, the Education Department is punching back. In what could be a preview of things to come, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Education Secretary Arne Duncan traded harsh words last week and helped push education and the federal government’s role in it from its usual spot on the back burner to the spotlight of presidential politics. During an Aug. 15 campaign stop in Iowa, Mr. Perry said he doesn’t “think the federal government has a role in education.” A few days later, Mr. Duncan shot back, telling the Bloomberg news agency he feels “very, very badly” for the students of Texas, a rare example of the education secretary using his pulpit to take political shots at Republicans. (more...)

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Feds’ role in schools re-emerges as 2012 issue

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