Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Educating our children is critically important to our future. However, decisions about the right education for each child it is ultimately the responsibility of parents and local government, not the federal government.

Education is not an enumerated power of the federal government, and therefore should be left to the states and to the people, as required by the 10th Amendment. Each state and school district is full of students with vastly different needs who deserve an education best suited to them, not a one size fits all approach from Washington D.C.

National standards and extensive testing to those standards are antithetical to local efforts to improve education with reforms designed by those closest to the students. Teachers are forced to "teach to the test" rather than using their professional skills to tailor education to the learning styles and needs of their students. Parents are further removed from decisions about what their children are taught.

The Federal Department of Education should be eliminated. In the meantime, I will continue to support policies and legislation in Congress that return these decisions to state and local governments while empowering parents to decide what is right for their children. Meaningful reform can only happen if states and local governments reclaim control of education.

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