Shattering the System: Dismantling the Department of Education with Jonathan Butcher

What if the key to improving education in America is as simple as dismantling the Department of Education (DOE)?In this week's episode of The Narrative, CCV Policy Director David Mahan, Communications Director Mike Andrews, and Ohio Christian Education Network Executive Director Troy McIntosh sit down with Heritage Foundation's Jonathan Butcher—a leading expert in education policy—to talk about President Trump's recent executive order to abolish the DOE and how ending the bloated bureaucracy could unlock a new era of innovation, local empowerment, and real reform.Jonathan takes us through the potential benefits of dismantling the DOE, offering a fresh perspective on how we can reshape education to better serve students, parents, and communities.  More about Jonathan ButcherJonathan Butcher is the Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation. He has researched and testified on education policy around the US, including testimony before the US Commission on Civil Rights.He is the author of Splintered: Critical Race Theory and the Progressive War on Truth. Jonathan co-edited and wrote chapters in The Critical Classroom, discussing the racial prejudice that comes from applying critical race theory in K-12 schools. He also co-edited and wrote chapters in the book The Not-So-Great Society, which provides conservative solutions to the problems created by the ever-expanding federal footprint in preschool, K-12, and higher education.Jonathan previously served as the Education Director at the Goldwater Institute, where he remains a Senior Fellow. He was a member of the Arizona Department of Education's first Steering Committee for Empowerment Scholarship Accounts, the nation's first education savings account program. He is also a Senior Fellow with The Beacon Center of Tennessee and a contributing scholar for the Georgia Center for Opportunity.Prior to joining Goldwater, Jonathan was the Director of Accountability for the South Carolina Public Charter School District. Jonathan previously studied education policy at the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas. He worked with the School Choice Demonstration Project, the research team that evaluated voucher programs in Washington, D.C. and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Jonathan holds a bachelor's degree in English from Furman University and a master's degree in economics from the University of Arkansas.