With the presidential election right around the corner, being informed about what the potential outcomes would mean for the country is more crucial than ever. The president-elect could fundamentally alter the United States’ approach to public education, and the two candidates have starkly different plans to address many of the issues that have been of concern. Here’s everything you need to know about how Harris and Trump could impact your educational future:
Education in America is primarily managed by state and local governments, so while the president does not have direct control over educational policies, their decisions can significantly impact the education system. The president submits budget plans and, with confirmation from the Senate, can also nominate officials to the Federal Department of Education, abbreviated as the ED. The ED is a subcommittee of the Executive Branch with a mission to prepare students for college, careers, and citizenship. They also work to ensure equal access to education. They do not establish a national curriculum or educational standards and only provide a small role in funding K-12 schools. But they do manage federal financial aid for higher education, collect data on schools, and work to focus national attention on educational issues.
In recent years, issues such as student debt, school funding, curriculum, and LGBTQ+ rights have been widely debated. Most public school students, especially here in OUSD, are all too familiar with the neglect towards public schools.
“Every public school I’ve been to has been so underfunded,” says Eliza Ayers, a senior at Tech. “Desks are broken or missing, bathrooms are understocked, and Chromebooks are often damaged”.
Especially for current high school seniors who are just voting for the first time, the cost of college or other higher education is another major concern.
“I’m worried about paying for college and am working through this school year to try and afford it,” admits Avery Kaleta. “I’m exhausted.”
To address these issues, many of Harris’ educational policies are part of her “New Way Forward” campaign, which focuses on lowering costs for middle-class families. According to her campaign website, Harris plans to help parents afford high-quality preschool and “end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt.” She also aims to create more opportunities for people without college degrees to work “in roles that they deserve” while earning a good salary.
Harris is also advocating for more funding towards K-12 schools and HBCUs, higher teacher wages, and LGBTQ+ rights.
The Biden-Harris administration has already provided almost $170 billion in student debt relief, increased the National Pell Grant award by $900, and invested in minority-serving institutions and community colleges. They also expanded Title IX, a law prohibiting sex-based discrimination, to include protections for LGBTQ+ students.
In contrast, Trump and his administration state on their campaign website their plan to “save American education” by “[taking] back control from the Radical Left maniacs indoctrinating our children and [giving] our kids the high quality, pro-American education they deserve.”
One of the most controversial goals of the Trump-Vance campaign is to abolish the Department of Education completely, which would turn education completely over to the states. State and local governments already provide most of the funding and decision-making, but abolishing the federal ED would eliminate any national guidelines or standards for education, meaning that curriculums would be inconsistent from state to state. However, abolishing a federal department would still require congressional approval, so the president would not be able to accomplish this alone.
Trump also wants to control school curriculums to reinforce his personal and party beliefs. While he wouldn’t have direct control over curriculums, he proposed cutting funding for schools that push concepts such as “critical race theory, transgender insanity, and other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”
He has suggested implementing direct election of school principals by parents, cutting the number of school administrators, and getting rid of tenure for K-12 teachers.
If you are a senior who is able to vote this year, please do your research and vote accordingly.