U.S. Secretary of Education Secretary Linda McMahon went on the news last week to point out that the 43-day government shutdown had no impact on education in this country, which she said proved it is not needed as a Cabinet-level office.

Unlike the typical Cabinet secretary, her assignment is to eliminate her own job.

She made a valid point.

“Students kept going to class. Teachers continued to get paid. There were no disruptions in sports seasons or bus routes. The shutdown proved an argument that conservatives have been making for 45 years: The U.S. Department of Education is mostly a pass-through for funds that are best managed by the states,” Ms. McMahon said.

While there is much that the federal education department does that is valuable to education in this country, almost all of

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