I would recommend we get rid of the Department of Education. Especially as related to K-12. Get rid of federal dollars tied to anything in education. Schools have become nothing but indoctrination machines for liberalism.
After visiting the local high school, and looking at the crap posted on bulletin boards from radical organizations like Greenpeace and others, I decided I would not send my daughter there. Instead I sent my daughter to parochial school (we are not Catholic) for k-8 and home schooled high school using a virtual (Internet) high school.
By the way a virtual high school costs less than $2000 a year, and provides brand new books for each class. Try that in a brick and mortar school. Email feedback was excellent and provided more assistance than she would get in a class room.
Out of that experience, my daughter was accepted at every college she applied too, and was offered several scholarship opportunities as well. One college that we eventually turned down called us, and asked what they could do to get her to come there, instead of the competing college she chose.
Bottom line is choice is the solution, and even today you have more choices than you think you have. Number one choice, keep your kids out of public schools.
