World-Class Education

America’s greatest resource is the brain of every child. The way to guarantee a thriving society 10 years from now, is to do everything we can to help every 10-year-old thrive today. Every child, no matter his or her background, should be guaranteed a high-quality education. Every child deserves the chance to fulfill his or her God-given potential.

50 years ago, there was no better place than America to have a big dream. Obtaining a high school degree meant that every single American had a fair shot at getting a good job, raising a family, buying a house, and sending their kids to school – all on one income. Nowadays, the economy of the 21st-century places an ever-greater importance on trade skills and receiving a college degree. However, Gen-Z is being short-changed, with our elected officials overpromising and under delivering. Our public schools are the bedrock of our communities and the American Dream, and yet, our schools are chronically underinvested – our Infrastructure is crumbling and neglected, veteran teachers are leaving en masse, schools are overcrowded, curriculums and technology are out of date, and academic achievement has fallen off a cliff. Moreover, the United States now places an unimpressive 35th out of 71 countries in math and science achievement.

If we want to prepare America’s next generation for a highly competitive world, we ought to get serious about investing in our future. We must fight for accessible and quality public education for all American children and affordable college education for all who want it. We must ensure that every public school is a palace of learning, culture, and modern infrastructure; and truly guarantee that no child is left behind academically, socially, or economically. Together, it’s time that we reduce child poverty and increase child opportunity for America’s next generation.

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Student Debt Relief

Student debt is holding millions of Americans back and crushing the financial futures of millions of young Americans trying to make ends meet. Over the last few decades, student loans have skyrocketed past $1.6 trillion. In 2023, there were over 43 million student-loan borrowers, with the average borrower owing $37,574. Together, we can provide a path to economic stability for millions of Americans and take a critical step towards strengthening our economy, expanding financial horizons, and building a better, brighter America. We must:

Make all community colleges tuition-free.
Ensure low-income and middle-class families pay no tuition on in-state four-year public colleges and universities.
Cap student-loan interest rates.
Improve the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
Allow all borrowers to refinance loans at current interest rates.
Crack down on predatory schools, lenders, and bill collectors.
Expand the Biden-Harris Administration’s Student Debt Relief plan.

Universal School Meals

Today, twelve million children are hungry in America – there should not be even one. Students with school lunch debt are forced to go on welfare and not only face the struggle of economic disparity and social stigma – but also the ire of debt collectors who may deny their ability to graduate. It is not a radical idea to protect the well-being of all our children and ensure no child goes hungry. Just as the State of Minnesota did in March of 2023, we as a nation must follow suit and provide year-round, quality, healthy, delicious, and free universal breakfast and lunch school meals to all.

Access to Affordable College

While student debt relief eases the economic burden of college education – these proposals are merely a band-aid solution on a more elemental problem: college affordability. Making higher education more affordable is urgent and undeniable. Decades ago, Baby Boomers could hold down a summer job and pay for most, if not all of their college tuition. Today, students would be lucky if they could afford the cost of their textbooks. With tuition surging as much as 440% over the last 25 years, higher education has now been relegated to a privilege for the few rather than an opportunity available for all. Every year, hundreds of thousands of students opt against getting a higher education for one reason: their family lacks the income. If students want to earn a degree after high school, they should have every right to. Income should not be a barrier to opportunity – it’s unfair to students, and it’s unfair to the future of our country. We must:

Make public colleges, universities, HBCUs, minority-serving institutions, and trade schools more affordable for all.
Offer tuition-free community college and trade schools for all.
Provide tuition-free workforce training courses.
Double investments in Pell Grants.
Allow community college and trade school class credits to be more easily transferable to universities.
Guarantee access to mental health professionals on campus.
Expand access to work-study programs.
Increase funding for the TRIO and GEAR UP program.
Create more opportunities for higher education and for students who seek education in trades or technical fields.
Provide college students who are parents the support they need and the resources they deserve.
End food-insecurity on college campuses.

A New Era in Education

America used to lead the world in the percentage of young people with college degrees. Today, we are #11 behind countries like South Korea, Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom. America is falling behind – thanks to MAGA Republicans waging unnecessary culture wars attempting to ban books rather than ban school hunger. Extremist state supermajorities have also made radical spending cuts to critical public services like public education in favor of privatization and voucher scams, all while padding corporate monopolies with billions in subsidies at the expense of our nation falling further and further behind in academic achievement and educational prowess. Let’s actually put America first by offering a world-class education. We must:

Establish universal childcare & pre-K for all.
Fully fund public schools, and make every school a palace of learning, culture, and modern infrastructure.
Increase the salary of public school teachers.
Achieve equitable funding for public schools by rethinking the link between property taxes, standardized testing, and school budgets.
Reevaluate school start and end times.
Give every student an opportunity to learn computer science.
Provide more educational opportunities for students with disabilities.
Revitalize rural schools.
Pass curriculum reform:
- de-emphasize standardized testing
- prioritize critical thinking, life skills, and job preparation
- mandatory personal finance and civics classes
- implement study skills courses
- expand innovative education programs like Early College.
Eliminate vouchers for private schools.
Cancel all existing student lunch debt.