What the presidential candidates have done and what position they take in the field of education

When it comes to education policy, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris not only have different views, but also different accomplishments.

Harris calls for a broader role for the federal government and greater investment to improve educational opportunities. Trump is focused on decreasing role of the federal government in education and rely on states, local governments, and parents to make decisions and investments in education.

At the same time, there are some commonalities, including the growing importance of career and technical education. What follows is an overview of what the two candidates have done in the world of education during their time in office.

About higher education

Candidates share concerns about the high cost of higher education. But they have different views on how to handle these costs. As California Attorney General Harris obtained a $1.1 billion judgment against Corinthian Colleges for false advertising. The decision provides refunds to students who were misled by claims about job placement rates, program offerings and military affiliations.

While Harris prosecuted for-profit colleges for fraudTrump has focused on promoting innovation by reduction in regulation And expanding alternatives to traditional higher education. This includes making it easier to accredit online, religious and commercial institutions.

As a member of the Biden administration, Harris pursued student loan debt forgiveness. She also has strongly expressed its support to expand access to Government Service Loan Forgiveness program. This follows from what she had co-author of the Debt-Free College Act as a US Senator.

The administration is faced with challenges to constitutionality loan forgiveness initiatives on the grounds that the President does not have the power under current law to unilaterally cancel debt. Opponents also said any debt forgiveness would have to be authorized by Congress. Critics further say that loan forgiveness does not address the root causes of rising costs higher education. Loan forgiveness may lead to further price increases if institutions thought that students would worry less about the cost of college in anticipation of their debts being forgiven.

Trump created two organizations to advise the federal government on workforce development and training needs: Council of Federal Officials and Advisory Council of Business Leaders.

In 2019, Trump signed a bipartisan bill receive permanent $250 million in annual federal funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), which were previously subject to annual renewal.

Harris urged lowering advanced degree requirements for federal jobs. She also promoted vocational training programs as an alternative to incarceration in her country. “Back on the Road” Initiative as California’s Attorney General from 2011 to 2017.

As Attorney General and then U.S. Senator from California, she called for increased oversight of advertising by for-profit colleges And debt forgiveness for former for-profit college students. She also supported expansion of federal aid public and nonprofit colleges, including tuition-free community colleges and large grant HBCUs.

About K-12 Education

Trump 2024 Campaign Platform calls for sweeping changes in K-12 education policy. This includes universal school choice and greater parental control over schoolswhich will entail permission for parents throughout the country use educational funds to pay for private school through vouchers or tax breaks if they so choose. It is also characterized by a sharply reduced role of the federal government in education. Actually, Trump wants to eliminate the US Department of Education. Many of these plans, such as direct election of parents by parents, unlikely to come true due to the fact that schools in the US are largely under state and local control.

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Trump advanced 529 college savings plans to allow parents to save up to $10,000 per year tax-free on K-12 private school tuition.

As president, Trump did a few more suggestions this could foreshadow his plans for the future. These offers include creating a $5 billion federal tax credit for private school tuition, US Department of Education budget cuts in annual budget requests and turn Title I appropriations for additional services for poor students, such as smaller classes or tutoring, into block grants to states.

The Biden administration sought expand federal funding for full-service public schools.
Full service public schools These are public schools that receive additional funding and staff to address students’ academic needs as well as outside-of-school factors, such as access to health care and healthy foods, that affect learning.

The Biden administration also expanded Title IX protections against gender discrimination include sexual orientation and gender identity.

As a 2019 presidential candidate, Vice President Harris also called for federal funding provide teachers with an average raise of $13,500although she made no such calls during this campaign.

As California’s attorney general, Harris made reducing chronic absenteeism a high priority when she led Initiative to combat truancy in school and on the go. The initiative included additional funding for districts and schools to use data to better understand and monitor absenteeism and to educate parents about the importance of school attendance.

The data and communication oriented approach has evolved from its initial approach as San Francisco District Attorneywhich placed more emphasis on prosecuting parents for truancy.

About early childhood education

Neither Trump nor Harris have significant real-world experience when it comes to early childhood education. Project 2025, which Trump disavowed but was written by close associates of the former presidentcalls elimination of Head StartA federally funded and locally administered early childhood education program to support low-income families.

Although Trump did several similar proposals To reduce Child Care and Development Block Grant funding by approximately 5%, they were not passed into law by Congress.

Harris did calls to a free universal kindergarten for all four-year-olds, but the Biden administration has been can’t get its early childhood proposals through Congress.

Later exploring some universal pre-k programs have raised questions about how long academic gains from early childhood programs will last. However, online evidence from the highest quality studies of high-quality early childhood programs in general and Head Start in particular shows that they improve cognitive skills in children.