Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

In her visits to schools across our state, Congresswoman Capito is always impressed by West Virginia students' ability to learn and by the commitment of our teachers and principals. She's backed important efforts to focus on math and science curriculum and promote Head Start programming to give West Virginia children access to high quality early education.

The Congresswoman believes in setting high standards for our students, while implementing sound education policy to support West Virginia's dedicated educators - particularly as Congress prepares to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. Although she is a strong supporter of the goals of No Child Left Behind, she is open to a number of different ideas about improvement and updates. Capito understands the need to establish multiple assessment tools to best measure student performance and provide teachers the flexibility to adapt the material to individual students. She looks forward to working with parents, teachers and principals to ensure they have the resources necessary to provide a quality education for all West Virginia children.

The Congresswoman has been a co-sponsor of key measures to support school construction and improvements, and has supported efforts to expand broadband service to rural communities and schools.

Capito also believes every West Virginia student should have the opportunity of earning a college degree. A college education is a key component to a successful career, making it critical that students and parents have the information and resources they need to reach their goals in higher education. She continues to seek solutions that decrease the cost of higher education, while increasing support for students seeking a college degree.

She has supported legislation to increase the Pell Grant to allow students to receive grants year round and legislation to increase annual unsubsidized loan limits by $2,000 for undergraduate students. Most recently in 2012, she voted to prohibit student loan interest rates from doubling.

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