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In a matter of days, Americans will head to the voting booths to choose the next leader of the United States of America. For some individuals, voting a straight ticket for one of the two major parties will always be their choice. For many others, however, finding and selecting a couple of the most meaningful issues that they agree with on a particular candidate is what dictates who they will vote for. The topic of America’s Education system is always brought up in each election and is a hot bed for discussion where ideas on how to strengthen and improve the public school system are debated. Unfortunately, the airwaves have been flooded with mudslinging that has undermined any serious attempts to have a dialogue on the education policies that will affect students, parents, teachers, and administrators across the country. Hopefully in the coming months this information will come to the forefront as national debates take place. Until then, we can at least turn to the internet and learn more about each candidate and what they have pledged to do to improve America’s Education system. Below I have tried to highlight the major points of each candidate by referencing their presidential website along with the website On The Issues. This is by no means a comprehensive list but it does provide a small framework for which each candidate stands.
Hillary Clinton, Democratic Nominee – Mrs. Clinton’s presidential website includes seven areas that her educational policies would affect. Mrs. Clinton wants to invest in early education by making it Universal for 4-year old’s in America and increase child care investments so families do not spend more than 10 percent of their income on early childhood care. In K-12 education, Mrs. Clinton supports the investment in computer science and STEM related classes, which would help students become more college and career ready. She plans on providing $2 billion to incentivize schools to reform discipline policies and to implement evidenced-based behavioral support programs. For post-secondary education, Mrs. Clinton wants to make college debit free by allowing students to refinance their loans and reward those who work in the public interest with a loan forgiveness after 10 years. Mrs. Clinton also has a plan to address college campus assaults with a comprehensive support system for survivors which includes simplifying the process for assault hearings and increasing prevention efforts. Mrs. Clinton supports the continuation of the Common Core, that teacher evaluations should not be tied to student test scores, and decreasing the number of standardized tests students must take in a year.
Donald Trump, Republican Nominee – Mr. Trump’s presidential website has no reference to the educational policies he would put forth. From a collection of statements found on www.ontheissues.org, Mr. Trump’s presumptive educational policy is to cut the Department of Education and the Common Core to give states the ability to choose what standards are the most important. Mr. Trump supports school choice, such as charter schools and voucher programs, because this would increase competition between schools, which he believes would create higher performing schools. Mr. Trump has also gone on record that he is against the federal government from profiting off of student loans but does not believe that student loans can be completely forgiven.
While Mrs. Clinton clearly has a more comprehensive plan than Mr. Trump, I think that the clearest difference between them is who should be responsible for America’s education. With Mrs. Clinton’s support of Common Core and Universal Pre-K she clearly feels that the Federal Government should continue to play a role in shaping education. Mr. Trump, on the other hand, has made it very clear that this power should be in the states hands and opposes any Federal intervention. This isn’t too surprising given the party that each candidate represents, but the difference is important to consider when voting. I hope that this information has been helpful and please leave a comment on any issues you would like more information on or questions you have.
- Sean Bielmeier, ELPA LEADS Education Policy Chair