SANTA FE, N.M. • Colorado Gov. Jared Polis led a panel discussion with U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon on Monday, the opening day of the Western Governors’ Conference in Santa Fe.

The keynote session focused on education changes under the Trump administration, where McMahon emphasized the need to reduce bureaucracy at the federal level and give states more control over education.

Since 1980, McMahon said the U.S. Department of Education has spent over $3 trillion, while noting that there has been little to no improvement for students. McMahon said that 70% of fourth and eighth-graders are not proficient in reading.

McMahon said Trump hired her with the goal that she would be the last secretary of the education department.

“The administration aims to redirect funds to core academics, promote school choice, and expand short-term training programs,” McMahon said.

The Trump administration is focused on pushing standards in K-12 education, with a bigger emphasis on reading, writing, and math standards, McMahon said. As the new education secretary, it makes no sense to continue spending billions without achieving positive student outcomes, she said. 

“Millions of families say their children are stuck in public schools that are failing them,” McMahon said. “They are academically neglected or exposed to divisive ideologies instead of core skills, and the post-secondary landscape is no better. After graduation, many students feel pressure to go into a four-year college, where tuition has skyrocketed and many degrees do not yield well-paying jobs.”

Trump was elected to reverse this decline to “make education great again,” McMahon said.

Polis said the primary responsibility of the Department of Education is to manage student loans and Pell grants for secondary education. He asked McMahon what might happen to those programs if Trump continues with the plan to disband the Department of Education entirely. McMahon said the program would likely be placed under a different department.

Polis and McMahon agreed that grants and loans have allowed colleges and universities to continue hiking tuition rates to unaffordable levels for years.

“This kind of easy money contributes to high tuitions in our colleges,” Polis said of the federal grant and student loan program. “I think most people left and right agree.”

Polis asked McMahon if she would be in favor of creating short-term grant programs aimed at funding students who want to skip the four-year university in favor of a trade school that offers a certificate in direct employment programs.

Polis also emphasized the importance of flexibility and accountability in education policies to meet the diverse needs of students and the demands of the workforce.

In agreeing with Polis, McMahon also said that, as education standards decrease, parents need more options, expressing her support for school choice programs.

“Promoting school choice is key to this mission, as well,” she said. “Every child deserves a quality education regardless of their zip code. We applaud states that are expanding charter schools, education savings accounts, tax credit, scholarships and other types of choice programs that empower parents to choose the best fit for their kids.”

As a school choice state, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon said the state has taken a more student-centered approach to education.

“It takes far too long and far too many standards,” he said. “Plus, it’s all about memorizing, taking the test, and then forgetting.”

He added: “We’ve reduced the number of requirements we have and reduced the number of standards that they have to perform. We have to make sure that kids can actually do what they are supposed to do. And it’s been remarkable because we have less truancy, we have less summer school, we are having kids that are much more engaged.”

Additionally, McMahon said schools at all levels need to embrace artificial intelligence in education. China is implementing AI education, starting in fourth grade, she noted.