I attended and taught at America’s public schools, and I believe in them. That's why I've got a plan to invest in public schools and ensure every kid in America has the same access to a high-quality public education. ewar.ren/education
Funding for public schools is inadequate and inequitable, and our schools are more segregated now than decades ago. We don't treat teachers and staff like professionals, and we're diverting money from public schools. It's time to live up to our promise of a good public education.
I’ll start—as I promised in May—by replacing Betsy DeVos with a Secretary of Education who has been a public school teacher, believes in public education, and will listen to our public school teachers, parents, and students.
Next, I'll make sure that we fund schools adequately and equitably by quadrupling Title I funding—investing an additional $450 billion over the next 10 years—and working with public education leaders and school finance experts to ensure that this money is allocated equitably.
And we'll provide more funding for IDEA grants, repairing and improving school facilities and infrastructure, developing sustainable community schools, and providing grants to public schools for the programs and resources that are most important to their students.
Integrated schools improve educational outcomes for students of all races. And integrated schools are demanded by our Constitution. My administration will fund integration efforts, strengthen Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and robustly enforce it.
My administration will also protect the rights of students with disabilities, LGBTQ+ students, English Language Learners, and immigrant students and their families so that every kid has access to a high-quality public education.
I'll ensure that every student has the opportunity to learn in a welcoming and safe public school. That's why my administration will eliminate high-stakes testing, invest in evidenced-based school safety, and end zero-tolerance discipline policies.
I will also push to cancel all existing student meal debt and increase federal funding to school meal programs so that students everywhere can get free and nutritious school meals.
My administration will work with states to sustainably increase the pay of teachers, paraprofessionals, school staff, and school leaders, and ensure that they have the resources they need. And I'll strengthen their ability to organize and bargain collectively.
We must stop the privatization of public schools. My administration will end federal funding for the expansion of charter schools, ban for-profit charter schools, and ensure existing charter schools are held to the same level of transparency and accountability as public schools.
It's time to live up to the promise of a high-quality public education for every student. My plan makes big, structural changes that would help give every student the resources that they need to thrive.
