Staff Reports
The Department of Education recently announced it would be scrapping a policy from the Biden administration that was drowning technical schools in red tape and bureaucratic nonsense. The burdensome reporting requirements, implemented in December 2024, would have tied schools in knots rather than letting them focus on what really matters: training the next generation of skilled workers. The department’s press release highlighted that these mandates would waste thousands of hours that could have been better used to equip students with vital skills, setting the stage for a stronger economy rather than a paper-pushing jamboree.
Educators at career and technical education (CTE) programs argued that the new regulations were not just unnecessary, but downright disruptive. In a system already choked by overregulation, adding more state and local administrative burdens would have sent innovation screaming out the door. Quality data? Forget it. Compliance requirements like these often create a world where educators are too busy ticking boxes to focus on what they should be doing: teaching students to weld, code, and build a better future for themselves and our country.
In a spirited defense of this new direction, Acting Under Secretary James Bergeron emphasized the Trump administration’s commitment to enhancing the technical workforce. The late-stage Biden-Harris attempt to collect extra information about CTE programs was labeled as a case of excessive bureaucratic overreach that ultimately would raise costs and stifle progress. And who can argue with this reasoning? As America celebrates Career and Technical Education Month, the Department now looks poised to collaborate with states, local CTE programs, and employers to do what should have been done from the start—create a more sensible process to support robust workforce training.
As enrollment in trade school soars, the Department of Education scrapped a Biden-era rule that piled thousands of hours of pointless reporting requirements, calling it “unnecessary bureaucratic red tape…https://t.co/UuDhtzahoa
— N B (@lovelynancie) February 12, 2025
Interestingly, as higher education institutions grapple with skyrocketing tuition costs and an avalanche of leftist ideologies—turning campuses into hotbeds of political strife—many young Americans are flocking to trade schools instead. In 2023 alone, vocational school enrollment soared by 16%, while traditional colleges faced the grim reality of declining enrollment and even campus closures. After all, who wants to attend a university where students are more likely to stage protests than gain meaningful skills?
The recent unrest on college campuses, fueled by the Israel-Hamas conflict, has led to a backlash against universities that have showcased a disturbing inability to maintain order or provide a conducive learning environment. As a result, many institutions have lost major donors, and their enrollment figures are taking a hit. With the Trump administration now officially designating February as Career and Technical Education Month, it is clear that the focus has shifted towards supporting hardworking Americans and giving them the tools they need to thrive, especially in a rapidly evolving job market. After all, the backbone of this great nation is its workforce, and investing in that workforce is an investment in a brighter future.
