Forty years after its opening, Americans must reconsider the efficacy of a federal, Cabinet-level Department of Education. Rescinding agency status, eliminating duplicative, ineffective, and inappropriate programs, and re-organizing remaining programs under a restored Office of Education within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would lay the groundwork for genuinely restoring state and local control of education. This "Backgrounder" provides a road map for how to accomplish that goal.