Education is on the ballot in November

Education is always on the ballot. Whether there’s a School Board race (not this year, FHSD!) or a new bill being proposed in Ohio, expanding access to vouchers here in Ohio (news article here) or a Presidential Candidate promises to abolish the Department of Education at a rally in Wisconsin, we pay attention to the activity around educational policies including funding, curriculum, and much more. ​

We hope to bring you relevant information about the policies of both parties before the November election through a series of blog posts. While federal policy influences FHSD's experience, local elections matter as much if not more, but we hope those interested in hearing about educational policy on the ballots - the debate between the presidential candidates Kamala Harris (D) and Donald Trump (R) is Tuesday night.

Articles recently posted by the Pew Research Center and the Brookings Institute provide insights from their research, and they’ve provided additional useful context.

Vice President and Presidential candidate Kamala Harris released her policies ahead of the debate here, where they've chosen to focus on affordability. The Democrat platform outlines a focus on high-quality education in all zip codes. The platform highlights a commitment to universal pre-K, and an effort to lower the cost of post-high-school education. ​

The Democrats further outline a plan to expand access to career and technical education, support for magnet schools focused on science, the arts, and International Baccalaureate programs to meet the multiple paths a diverse group of American high school students benefit from.  Investments in high-quality science, tech, engineering and math programs are also outlined, as the “Democrats believe we must prioritize STEAM education and funding to equip students with the knowledge and skills to understand complex scientific issues”.  They intend to ban for-profit schools’ use of public funds while increasing accountability for charter schools by requiring the same standards of transparency as traditional public schools. 

One place both parties seem to share an interest is in expanding broadband access for all; this makes sense, as so much of what high school students are doing now is through computers. ​

Additionally, Democrats suggest a plan to “significantly increase investments in rural, urban and tribal broadband infrastructure to close the digital divide.” This is one place where we see Republican and Democrat support. Ohio announced a $94.5M investment expansion high-speed internet to 35,000 households using a combination of funds provided by the Biden administration’s Infrastructure Bill ($17.5M and $50M from state funds and the remaining from other sources).

The Republican Party platform on education was difficult to find, so we’ll reference this list here, by The American Presidency Project. Many have suggested that Project 2025 has more of the Republican ideal policies, but the party has not stated a commitment to that platform despite the widely held impression. The summary of policy items from the Republicans has 20 items, only three reference to specific policies for education.

Recently, at a rally in Wisconsin, presidential candidate Donald Trump repeated his intent to eliminate the federal Department of Education as part of an effort to send oversight back to the states, much like he did with access to abortion during his term as the 45th President. He has committed to this at several occasions since 2023, and this statement aligns with the statements made in Project 2025.

The Republican list of priorities states:​

1. Cut Federal Funding for any school pushing critical race theory, radical gender ideology, and other inappropriate racial, sexual of political content on our children
2. Keep men out of women's sport
3. Deport pro-Hamas radicals and make our college campuses safe and patriotic again.  

​​Additionally, it’s notable that the Republican party educational platform has strongly pushed what they refer to as “universal school choice.” In an Article by the AP, they point out this is the “first time the GOP platform has gone beyond merely supporting school choice to calling for it as a universal option. It remains unclear how that would come to pass, given the platform also calls for shuttering the U.S. Department of Education, founded in 1979, and sending education policy-making “back to the States, where it belongs.”

Universal school choice - also known as voucher programs - would allow federal and state taxpayer dollars to be redirected to private schools, where accountability for the use of taxpayer funds has less oversight and fewer guidelines for use than public schools, and not every student is required to be admitted as public schools are required to support. In Ohio, where vouchers were originally intended to go to socioeconomically disadvantaged students in challenged or failing districts, most have gone to wealthy families that never attended public schools after Ohio expanded the income threshold for vouchers to cover beyond the original mandate and allowing it to be accessed by all Ohioans, even millionaires. See the news story here.

Ohio spent over $1B in 2023 on Vouchers, money coming straight out of taxpayer funds originally intended for public schools, and that is expected to rise in 2024. ​

Federal representation on educational policy will affect Forest Hills School District in this year and the years to come, as will local and state policies. From the devastating options provided by Project 2025, a policy document described by the BBC as “a Wish List for a Trump Presidency Explained” to the local policies proposed by Ohio elected leadership, it’s imperative we as voters know what is happening with reference to education

The success of our own FHSD students and the future of American innovation & leadership will rely on what America's students learn today, which makes every policy related to education important.

We hope to hear more about both Presidential candidates’ positions at the debate on Tuesday night (Sept 10, 2024) and we hope each of you will investigate the positions of both parties at state and federal levels, and watch the debate on Tuesday, and make informed decisions as we turn out to vote this November 5th.

Check your voter registration to ensure you're registered here on the Ohio website. ​