Free Our Schools! -Six Ways the Delaware General Assembly Can Cut Costs and Improve Outcomes Right Now.

By: Matt Bucher, Guest Contributor

High per capita costs. Low test scores. Off-the-rails student discipline. These issues, real and perceived, are killing our competitiveness, suppressing our economy, and closing off opportunities to our children.

Anyone who has volunteered in nearly every possible facet of the Delaware public school experience, as I have these past nineteen years, ought to see what is obvious in our comprehensive public school system. Here are some commonsense solutions, which would have an immediate and positive effect on our schools, teachers, and kids:

Return funding flexibility to the local school districts. Over the past decade or so, decision-making power in public education has been shifted to the state bureaucracy and lawmakers in Dover. At the same time, costs have slowly but steadily been shifted to the local school districts. There is research to prove that, and for years that research was given to the General Assembly in report form. Local districts need to be able to use funds for the local needs. We are either a state with local educational authority, or we are not. https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/GenerateHtmlDocument?legislationId=141066&legislationTypeId=3&docTypeId=2&legislationName=HCR98

Curtail the volume of legislative initiatives that have unfunded compliance costs. Every initiative, pet project, expansion of employees and/or services that is mandated by Dover, the greater cost to education. However, what is never taken into account is compliance costs for the local school district. For example: if a bill is passed requiring additional counselors, someone else in the local administration will have to handle the additional personnel issues, compliance with all employment regulations, and management on all levels. These costs -in personnel and time- the local school district must find a way to cover from its own, often static, funds. The root of any “administrative bloat” recognized by the community can be traced directly to the ever-greater swarms of regulations and initiatives with which public school districts must contend. The rule must be: if a legislative mandate is not important enough to also fund the cost of complying with it, then the mandate is not, in fact, important at all.

It’s time to change Delaware’s “burden of proof” laws for public schools that make it an outlier in legal cases regarding special education. In the vast majority of states, the complainant seeking legal relief bears the burden of proving the complaint is valid. Not so in Delaware. Delaware is one of six states that require the public school district to prove a negative in disputes regarding special education. As you can imagine, it is far easier (and cheaper) to settle these cases than to fight. As you can easily imagine, these laws make it easy for lawyers to weaponize this process in hopes of a financial windfall. The burden of compliance and “preemptive defensive practices” among special education teachers and admin alone is quite possibly in the millions of dollars, not to mention the cost of (unfairly) settling eminently winnable cases. Special Education Burden of Proof Belongs on Complainants | Cato Institute 926 Children with Disabilities Subpart E Procedural Safeguards for Parents and Children

Let’s use the monies appropriated for education, FOR education. Did you know that tens of millions of dollars have been, by legislative fiat, pulled from educational funds, over the past seven years? In the budget crunch of 2018, the State of DE required each state agency to return a percentage of their funds to the state coffers, in what was known then and now as the “give back”. This “temporary” line item in the annual appropriations bill has been ended for all state agencies -except education! Just this year, the educational “give back” will cost local school districts over $26 million. What exactly is done with this money has never been made clear. House Bill 225

Student discipline is not going well in comprehensive public schools. It doesn’t need to be studied; no committee needs to be formed. It’s embarrassing that this isn’t seen as self-evident. Many of our most involved parents and best-performing students have fled the comprehensive system because it lacks overall accountability and safety. The Delaware system is organized to force districts to keep students in standardized settings who -for whatever reasons- have extreme behavioral issues. Setting aside any component that stems from the home, there are certain steps that can be addressed by government. Namely, more alternative schools need to be established for students who will not behave appropriately, so districts can maintain school climate and still provide education, both in the mainstream setting and the alternative facility. https://www.delawarepublic.org/politics-government/2024-03-06/senate-returns-to-session-with-heated-debate-over-school-discipline-task-force

Fix the testing dilemmas. Parents who opt out students from testing shouldn’t count against a school. There isn’t nuance here; either we believe parents are in charge of their child’s education or we don’t. For students in high school, career ready is just as important as college ready.  Making every kid take the SAT (which no student who doesn’t plan to attend college has any motivation to do anything other than bomb), at this point is foolish and everyone but the Delaware educational establishment seems to see that. The practical outcome of these misapplied tests and practices is that companies who are potential Delaware employers pass us over because of perceived lack of aptitude in the future workforce. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11526698/

Matt Bucher is the Vice President of the Milford School Board, Chairman of the Legislative Committee for the DSBA, and the Founder of the Buccaneer Educational Foundation.

For Delaware families, passing down a home just got a bit easier.

By: Michael E. Kozikowski Sr., Guest Contributor

Delaware has enacted the Transfer on Death Act, creating a new way for residents to pass real estate directly to heirs without the cost and delays of probate. Sponsored by Representative Harris and Senator Lockman, House Bill 147-Substitute 1 allows property owners to use a TOD deed to name beneficiaries who will automatically inherit property upon the owner’s death.

TOD deeds work much like naming a beneficiary on a bank account or life insurance policy. It has no effect while the owner is alive—the property can still be sold, mortgaged, or otherwise transferred at any time. It only takes effect at death, transferring ownership directly to the beneficiary and helping families avoid probate.

For a TOD deed to be valid, it must be notarized, signed before two witnesses (whom are not a beneficiary), and recorded with the county Recorder of Deeds before the owner’s death. Beneficiaries do not need to sign or be notified in advance, though it’s helpful for them to be made aware to avoid confusion later. It can be revoked at any time by filing a revocation, recording a new TOD deed, or transferring the property during life.

Importantly, TOD deeds are exempt from Delaware’s realty transfer tax. Standardized forms will be available on all the county recording offices website to make both creating and revoking these deeds more accessible to the public.

When a property passes through a TOD deed, it transfers with any existing mortgages or liens still attached. Creditors are protected, as debts and statutory allowances can be recovered from the property if the estate lacks sufficient assets. As real estate is often a family’s greatest asset, transfers previously required lengthy probate. With TOD deeds, a parent can leave their home directly to their child without court involvement.

“The reason for my ongoing support of this bill is the benefit it would bring to underserved communities, affording them a greater degree of self-determination when it comes to their loved ones and property. A recent study performed by the AARP shows that many individuals in these communities do not create a will before death, leaving their loved ones with the consequences of probate,” stated New Castle County Recorder Michael E. Kozikowski Sr.

With this Act, Delaware joins more than 30 other states that have enacted similar laws, promoting consistency in estate planning across the country. The measure reflects a bipartisan effort to reduce red tape and give residents more control over how property passes at death.

New Castle County’s Recorder of Deeds office has been working closely with Kent and Sussex Counties to prepare for the acceptance of TOD deeds. New Castle and Sussex Counties will begin recording these documents on December 4, 2025, while Kent County weighs an earlier start.

The December 4th start date is important: if a property owner passes away before December 4, 2025, the TOD deed will not be valid. In those cases, heirs or loved ones would still need to rely on a will, estate proceedings, or other legal documentation to transfer ownership.

To help residents prepare, TOD deed forms will be posted on our website in the coming weeks leading up to the December 4th launch date. As with any document recorded in our office, we strongly encourage individuals to seek legal advice to fully understand this document’s purpose and scope, while determining if it is the right option for their circumstances. Our office is proud to provide this new option for families and remains committed to serving the public with clear and efficient service.

Michael E. Kozikowski Sr. is the Recorder of Deeds for New Castle County, serving six consecutive terms. During his tenure, he has introduced initiatives aimed at improving transparency and accessibility for residents of New Castle County.

Two New Releases from the DOE and EPA Are Set to Change the Energy Landscape

By: Dr. David R. Legates, Advisory Board Member, A Better Delaware

Amid a renewed push for energy deregulation under the second Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released a pivotal report titled “A Critical Review of Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the U.S. Climate” on July 29, 2025.  Commissioned by Energy Secretary Chris Wright and authored by a panel of five independent scientists, the report has been made available for public comment until September 2, 2025.  This report scrutinizes the effect of greenhouse gas emissions on U.S. climate, extreme weather, sea level rise, agriculture, the economy, and societal well-being.

Key findings of this report challenges mainstream narratives with current state-of-the-art science.  It concludes that climate models overestimate warming, as they are biased in their representation of surface and tropospheric warming, stratospheric cooling, snow cover, and albedo. The report highlighted the benefits of CO₂, such as global greening and enhanced crop yields, while noting that no long-term trends in extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes, tornadoes, and droughts) have occurred. The report notes that sea level rise projections carry deep uncertainties, with rates in the U.S. (~8 inches since 1900) being influenced more by local subsidence than acceleration. Economically, the report argues climate impacts are minor compared to energy poverty, with a low social cost of carbon (median $0.37-$18.67 by 2050) and potential net benefits from warming (e.g., reduced cold-related mortality that far offsets heat-related deaths). Conclusions urged prioritizing affordable energy over aggressive mitigation, as U.S. actions yield undetectable global effects.

Released on the same day as this report, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed a rule to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding, which had declared greenhouse gases a public health threat under the Clean Air Act, thereby enabling regulations like vehicle greenhouse gas standards. The rule, informed by the DOE report, aims to eliminate all greenhouse gas emission standards for light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, aligning markets with consumer preferences amid declining EV interest.  For example, surveys show a 30-40% sales drop without incentives like IRA tax credits, which was repealed via the Congressional Review Act. The new rule also cites changed circumstances since 2024, including lower fuel prices, policy shifts, and high compliance costs.

Arguments emphasized economic misalignment—consumers undervalue fuel savings, EVs strain electrical grids ($57 billion annual costs), and regulations increase fossil fuel use via substitution effects (i.e., half of U.S. reductions are offset globally). Projected net benefits of $157 billion to $444 billion annually from 2027 through 2055 are expected to be realized from reduced costs offsetting minor particulate matter emission increases.

Supporters hailed the new rule for economic relief and scientific balance. Implications include curtailed federal greenhouse gas regulation, boosted fossil fuel use, and legal challenges, potentially reshaping U.S. environmental policy amid global energy debates.

Dr. David R. Legates is a retired Professor from the University of Delaware and is the Director of Research and Education at the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation.