Scoop: Parents Defending Education Action gives Congress a road map to an A+ on education
Here's a road map for how the next Congress can put parents back in the driver's seat.
Congress has new education sheriffs in town: Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) and Rep. Tim Walberg, (R., Mich.) are chairing the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the House’s Education and Workforce Committee for the next two years — and parental advocacy organization Parents Defending Education Action (PDE Action) has a roadmap for them.
In a letter sent to Cassidy and Walberg, obtained by the Washington Reporter, PDE Action laid out a ten-point plan for education policy, including plans to support school choice, “rescind guidance on disparate impact in school discipline,” and “investigate foreign influence in K-12 education.”
“Expectations are high for 2025 and beyond. Families are eager to see new leadership in Washington who will focus on restoring merit and returning to learning,” PDE Action’s Director of Federal Affairs Michele Exner, a former top aide to Speaker Kevin McCarthy, wrote to the lawmakers. “We are confident that under the leadership of President Trump and the work of both of your committees, we will finally get an education system that families deserve. To do that, we encourage you to hone in on the most pressing issues we have heard directly from parents.”
Additional recommendations from PDE Action include a restoration of Title IX protections, enforcement of Title VI protections on anti-Semitism, and the “eradication of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.”
“Defund and dismantle DEI offices and initiatives in K-12 schools that prioritize ideology over academic excellence,” Exner wrote.
PDE Action is one of the leading parental rights groups; in addition to its close work with Congress, its executive director Nicki Neily has been one of the foremost advocates for Linda McMahon’s nomination to run the Department of Education.
