Opening Doors To Opportunity Through Education

Washington has made some big mistakes when it comes to school funding and policies. Mandate after mandate becomes law, but then remains underfunded or not funded at all. Control has been taken away from our local districts, our teachers and our parents teachers and given to bureaucrats in Washington. And all the while, our children have suffered the consequences.

I am committed to our schools and to our children getting a first rate education.

I volunteered in both of our sons’ classrooms and saw firsthand the amazing transformations that children made. A good education – from early childhood through post secondary education – is necessary to getting good jobs and a key to our global competitiveness. That’s why I’m a leader in the charge to reduce the achievement gap – to make sure all children can read by the 3rd grade. I’ve worked hard to advance quality, affordable early childhood education options that put parents in the driver’s seat, from working to update and expand Head Start, child care, and pre-school to creating scholarships to ensure parents are able to choose quality early childhood opportunities. I served on the finance study workgroup to ensure transparency and accountability. I worked to bring back the State’s share of special education funding to reduce the financial pressures of local districts and to expand opportunities for our children to excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I worked to help families afford the rising costs of college, authoring the law that ensured federal funds reduced tuition through the State Grant Program. And because transferring credits can be so hard for many students, I brought students, faculty and our colleges and universities together to make sure students would be able to transfer seamlessly within the MnSCU system.

As a member of Congress, I will work to make sure Washington concentrates on the “what” and not the “how,” giving school districts and teachers the flexibility they need to succeed. It’s time for Washington to live up to its education funding promises and stop passing the buck onto property tax payers. And it is time for Washington to get out of the way – so we can let teachers teach and our kids learn. I will fight to repeal or seriously reform No Child Left Behind to make it work for schools and students, to fund mandates like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, to make college affordable for middle class students, and to expand access to early childhood education opportunities.