Nationalization of Public Education: The Constitutional Question

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether Congress has the constitutional power to nationalize public education. While much could doubtlessly be said for and against nationalized public education, comments directed toward the wisdom or folly of nationalization are pointless if Congress lacks the power to nationalize public education. It is one thing to determine if a particular power exists, but quite another to determine if the power should be exercised. This paper, then, is primarily directed toward the threshold question, does Congress have the power, not toward the collateral question, should Congress exercise the power if the power exists.