Issue Position: Improving Education

Issue Position

Issue Position: Improving Education

REDUCE COLLEGE COSTS

No qualified student should be barred from higher education because of the cost. Jeanne Shaheen believes we should 1) raise the cap on federal guaranteed student loans. As tuition has skyrocketed, the maximum federal guaranteed student loan has not kept pace and students have been forced to turn to more expensive private or alternative loans to fill in the gap; 2) expand loan forgiveness for public service; 3) simplify and expand tuition tax credits. Today the federal government offers two different tuition tax credits and a tuition tax deduction - but students can only use one at a time. The system is needlessly complicated, and students and parents have a hard time figuring out which tuition tax benefit to choose. Jeanne Shaheen believes we should offer one expanded tuition tax credit; and 4) expand Pell grants.

REFORMING NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

While we all support the No Child Left Behind initiative's goal of ensuring that every child has access to an excellent education, the law's requirements have tied teachers' hands and punished schools when they needed help the most. Jeanne Shaheen will work to reform and fully fund No Child Left Behind. She believes Adequate Yearly Progress indicator should be reconfigured to take into account whether students and the school at large are making progress between years, not just progress as measured against an externally imposed goal. Schools should be allowed to develop a variety of assessments in order to show academic progress rather than the current single high stakes exam. Finally, we should provide teachers with more opportunities and incentives for high quality professional development.

INVEST IN EARLY LEARNING AND LIFETIME LEARNING

The research is clear: the early years are critical, and expanding early childhood education is a wise investment. Our economy receives a $7 to $10 return for every dollar invested in early childhood education. Jeanne Shaheen supports incentive funding to help states expand quality early childhood education programs.

Shaheen will also push to boost lifelong learning, such as customized job training and associates degrees at our community colleges, so everyone has the skills to participate in the new innovation economy.

FULLY FUNDING SPECIAL EDUCATION

When the original legislation for Individuals With Disabilities Act was passed in 1975 to guarantee children with disabilities an equal right to education, the federal government committed to help the states pay 40% of the extra costs associated with special education. Unfortunately, the government has never funded even half that amount. The federal government has made a commitment to the states to ensure children with disabilities receive an equal opportunity for an excellent education, and we should honor that commitment by setting a goal of fully funding IDEA within eight years.

There are other ways to support our schools and our special education students. For example, we should encourage universally designed assessments and create a comprehensive list of the types of modifications that are acceptable. Schools and teachers shouldn't have to reinvent the wheel every year when there's a wealth of knowledge and experience throughout the nation on how to make assessments more accessible to our special education students.

We all believe that all children deserve an excellent education, and it's past time the federal government backed up that ideal with action.

Source