Democratic Party Platform – Draft!

Dear Commons Community,

As Hillary Clinton and the Democrats gear up for their convention at the end of this month, two things that observers will be watching for are who is her vice presidential running mate and what is the party’s platform.  Yesterday, the Democratic Party National Committee made available a draft of the platform.

It contains a lot of hopes and wishes.  For readers of this blog, the section on education may be most important (copy below).

Free community college tuition, easing student debt, minority serving institutions, and reigning in for-profit colleges dominate higher education.   Early childhood, Pre-K, charter schools, expanding teacher workforce, mentoring programs, and STEM dominate primary and secondary education.

Tony

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Higher Education

Democrats believe that if you are an American who wants to get an education, you should always be able to get one: money should never stand in the way. Cost should not be a barrier to getting a degree or credential, and debt should not hold you back after you graduate. Bold new investments by the federal government, coupled with states reinvesting in higher education and colleges holding the line on costs, will ensure that Americans of all backgrounds will be prepared for the jobs and economy of the future. We will make community college free, while ensuring the strength of our historically minority-serving institutions. Achieving these goals depends on state and federal investment in both students and their teachers. Whether full-time or adjunct,  faculty must be supported to make transformative educational experiences possible. As we make college affordable for future students, we will not forget about the millions of borrowers who need help with their debt right now.  

 

Student Debt  

Democrats will allow those who currently have student debt to refinance their loans at the lowest  rates possible. We will simplify and expand access to income-based repayment so that no student loan borrowers ever have to pay more than they can afford. And we will significantly cut interest  rates for future undergraduates, thereby preventing the federal government from making billions  of dollars in profit from student loans. Democrats will also fight for a Student Borrower Bill of Rights to ensure borrowers get adequate information about options to avoid or get out of   delinquency or default. We will hold lenders and loan servicers to high standards to help  borrowers in default rehabilitate and repay their debts. Finally, Democrats will restore the prior   standard in bankruptcy law to allow borrowers with student loans discharge their debts in  bankruptcy as a measure of last resort.

 

Minority-Serving Institutions  

We will strengthen our nation’s public and private Historically Black Colleges and Universities,   Hispanic-Serving Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving  Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving   Institutions, and other minority-serving institutions by providing a dedicated fund of tens of   billions of dollars to keep costs down, provide a quality education, and provide dedicated support  to improve student outcomes and completion rates. These schools play an important role in   building opportunity and creating a diverse workforce.  

 

For-Profit Schools  

Donald Trump ran a fake university—the now bankrupt Trump “University”—that scammed  many out of their hard-earned savings and led to no degree and no obvious benefit to their   education or economic prosperity. Democrats will not tolerate this type of fraud. We will also   continue to crack down on for-profit schools that take millions in federal financial aid—often as   their principal source of revenue—and then exploit students and burden them with debt rather than educating them. That is why we will strengthen the gainful employment rule to ensure that   for-profit schools enable students to complete their degrees and prepare them for work. We will   go after for-profits that engage in deceptive marketing, fraud, and other illegal practices. It is not   right that for-profit schools with low graduation rates keep encouraging their students to take out   federal loans they will have trouble paying back.  

 

Early Childhood, Pre-K, and K-12  

Democrats believe we must have the best-educated population and workforce in the world. That   means making early childhood education a priority, especially in light of new research showing   how much early learning can impact life-long success. Democrats will invest in early childhood   programs like Early Head Start and provide every family in America with access to high-quality  childcare and high-quality pre-K programs.  

 

We will ensure there are great Pre-K-12 schools in every zip code. Democrats are committed to  the federal government continuing to play a critical role in working towards an America where a   world-class education is available to every child. Democrats believe that a strong public   education system is an anchor of our democracy, a propeller of the economy, and the vehicle   through which we help all children achieve their dreams. Public education must engage students   to be critical thinkers and civic participants while addressing the wellbeing of the whole child. 34

 

Democrats believe that all students should be taught to high academic standards. Schools should  receive adequate resources and support. We will hold schools, districts, communities, and states   accountable for raising achievement levels for all students—particularly low-income students,   students of color, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities. We are also deeply   committed to ensuring that we strike a better balance on testing so that it informs, but does not  drive, instruction.  

 

To close the opportunity gap, we also must find ways to encourage mentoring programs that   support students in reaching their full potential. Mentoring is a strategy to ensure that children   living in poverty have the encouragement and support to aim high and enter the middle class. We  will focus on group mentoring, which is a low-cost, high-yield investment that offers the benefit of building a supportive network of peers who push one another towards success.  

 

Democrats know that good teachers are essential to improving student learning and helping all   students meet high academic standards. Democrats will launch a national campaign to recruit and   retain high-quality teachers, and we will ensure that teachers receive the tools and ongoing   professional development they need to succeed in the classroom and provide our children with a   world-class education. We also must lift up and trust our educators, continually build their capacity, and ensure that our schools are safe, welcoming, collaborative, and well-resourced  places for our students, educators, and communities.   

 

We will invest in high-quality STEM classes, community schools, computer science education,   arts education, and expand linked learning models and career pathways. We will end the school- to-prison pipeline. And we will work to improve school culture and combat bullying of all kinds.  

 

Democrats are also committed to providing parents with high-quality public school options and   expanding these options for low-income youth. We support great neighborhood public schools   and high-quality public charter schools, and we will help them disseminate best practices to other   school leaders and educators. Democrats oppose for-profit charter schools focused on making a   profit off of public resources. We instead support increased transparency and accountability for  all charter schools.  

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