Education Secretary Linda McMahon is delivering a pointed message to California: the federal government should have a smaller role in classrooms, parents must become more involved in their children’s schooling, and schools that withhold information from families could face serious consequences.
In an exclusive interview with The California Post during a stop in the state on her “Returning Education to the States” tour, McMahon discussed California’s weak academic performance, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s education record and her effort to dismantle the federal agency she leads.
McMahon said declining test scores are a problem across the country and noted that President Trump made improving student achievement a priority when he offered her the position.
“I do believe that it’s because of the way we have been teaching our students,” she told The Post. “You cannot force education from the top down from Washington, D.C., because no one size fits all. What works best in the states is best decided at the state level, with parents working with teachers, governors and school officials being involved.”
She also urged parents to play a larger role in their children’s education, describing the heightened parental involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic as a “silver lining.”
“Take on the mantle, go to the school and find out what your children are being taught and how you want them to be taught,” she said.
When asked to assess Newsom’s performance on education, McMahon offered a blunt response: “There is a lot of room for improvement.”
The latest California education data shows that about six in 10 students are not proficient in math. Roughly half also fall short of the state’s reading proficiency standards.
McMahon further criticized California’s policies on student gender identity information, warning that the state could face forceful federal intervention over rules that restrict what schools share with parents.
In January, the U.S. Department of Education concluded that California’s education agency was continuing to violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA, which governs parents’ access to their children’s school records.
“For a state to keep that information from parents, to hide files and to not provide that information, it’s clearly against FERPA, and we will investigate and come after them hard,” she said.
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The department alleged that California had pressured schools to conceal students’ gender identities from their parents, pointing to AB 1955, a 2024 law that prohibits school districts from requiring disclosure without a student’s consent. California Attorney General Rob Bonta has challenged the federal finding in court, while the state maintains that the law does not require schools to withhold information.
“I challenge governors to make sure that they are on board to serve kids and not serve adults,” she said.
McMahon’s plan to shift education authority back to the states also involves dismantling the federal Department of Education, an objective President Trump advanced through a March 2025 executive order. Eliminating the department entirely would require approval from Congress.
McMahon said the department is already working to transfer its responsibilities to other federal agencies, though she acknowledged the process will be complex.
“We are definitely working on our interagency agreements and moving the bodies of work out of the Department of Education. This is no small task,” she told The Post about eventually ending her role.
“We are making sure the policies, the grant money and all of the funding that is currently passing through the Department of Education will pass through these other agencies and get where it’s supposed to go, and children will be served better.”
The Education Department has entered into 14 agreements with six agencies, including the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, State, Labor, Interior and Treasury. Under the arrangements, some K-12 and higher-education grant programs will move to the Labor Department, the federal student loan portfolio will shift to Treasury, and portions of the department’s special education and civil rights work will be handled by HHS and Justice.
McMahon said she is asking lawmakers to judge the restructuring effort on its results rather than its promises.
“I have said to them, let this be my proof of concept. Let me show you that it will work. I won’t ask for your vote until I show you how it will work.”
The department has also criticized the University of California system, where failure rates in introductory mathematics courses for freshmen have been rising.
“It’s a troubling indictment of our education system that so many college students struggle with basic high school math,” department spokesperson Julie Hartman said.
