Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Providing an affordable world-class education to every American student is a necessity in order to remain competitive in the global economy. Additionally, a good education remains the most effective method of lifting societies out of poverty. Quality education must be a national priority once again. As a nation, we must raise education standards, invest in teachers, turn around low-performing schools, and reduce the cost of public college tuition.

Currently, the United States spends more on education than any other nation in the world (nearly $8,000 per student) and yet has lower academic achievement in science and math than many of our allies. The United States has fewer school days, longer hours of instruction, larger class sizes, and lower paid teachers than many other nations. Furthermore, the cost of tuition at public colleges and universities has increased at an alarming rate.

There is no single "silver bullet" to address the all of the various issues faced by America's education system. However, Jonathan Michael Snow believes that the following proposals can result in higher academic achievement.

Mandatory K-12 or GED completion for all current and future students.
Mandate that public school libraries open at least 30 minutes before the start of classes and close no earlier than 30 minutes after the end of classes.
Class size limits for all subjects (exceptions for band and chorus): Pre K - 3rd grade: 10 students per teacher, 4th grade -- 8th grade: 15 students per teacher, and 9th grade -- 12th grade: 20 students per teacher.
Increase number of school days by about 10 percent so students receive 200 days of instruction.
Increase length of breaks between classes.
Minimum starting salary of $40,000 for all public school teachers.
Reduce federal funds for extracurricular activities and reallocate those funds for smaller classes and higher teacher pay.
Eliminate federal funds for private schools, colleges, and universities and reallocate those funds to public schools, colleges, and universities.
Increase maximum Pell grant per student from $5,550 to $7,500 while allowing grants to be applied towards undergraduate and postgraduate degrees.

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