NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – President-elect Donald Trump has promised to get rid of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), and Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday voiced his support for that dismantling.

Governor Lee said Tennessee would be better able to develop a strategy for effectively spending federal education dollars. and said that the state was managing education effectively before the formation of the ED in 1979.

He also added that the state can address the unique challenges of students better than the federal government.

There are concerns about protecting people with disabilities in dismantling an oversight agency like the Department of Education, but Gov. Lee said he is confident Tennessee can handle funding for children with disabilities, English as a second language and rural areas.

“We know Tennessee, we know our kids. We know the needs here far better than a bureaucracy in Washington DC does. So, I would welcome this opportunity,” Governor Lee said.

The governor also used the occasion to support the “Educational Freedom Grants Act,” or school vouchers, which he said gives parents of children with disabilities the option to choose private schools if they think it’s a better fit for their child. .

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