Why Should You Care?
It is no secret that the United States education system is broken.
K-12 students in the U.S. routinely test behind their peers in other countries around the globe, coming in 13th out of 79 total countries and regions.
How can we expect our students to excel when our classrooms are left critically underfunded? Research from The Century Foundation, found that every year the United States underfunds its school by a jaw-dropping $150 billion dollars.
The districts that suffer the most support our low-income, Black, and Latinx youth. Black students, in particular, are segregated in schools with little funding in low-scoring districts.
If that wasn’t bad enough, many school districts are having to implement creative, and often times inadequate, solutions to critical staffing shortages made worse by COVID-19.
This year, 2 in 3 public school superintendents report that they have more empty positions in their district than in 2021.
And the teachers that are left in the classroom are experiencing burnout at historic rates. Because they are routinely overworked, underpaid, and lack the resources to do their jobs, 52% of K-12 teachers say that they feel burned out all or most of the time.
To add more to educators’ plates, they are now being thrust into the middle of national debates over the content of their curriculums.
In 2022, 18 states have passed laws that expressly forbid the discussion of “divisive concepts”(GRID) in schools. And school districts across the country banned an inconceivable 1,145 books from classrooms. Many of these banned books feature characters of color, discuss race and racism, or include the LGBTQ+ community.
But the oversight doesn’t end with banning books. This year state legislators around the country have also been debating the use of Critical Race Theory, or CRT, in the classroom.
Now that COVID-19 has highlighted the major flaws in our public education system, it is critical that we fight for reform, so every student gets the education they deserve.
Our Stance
We believe that every student has the right to a free, high-quality education regardless of gender, income, or race. Our public school system is regularly failing our underprivileged youth and has been designed to punish school districts in predominantly Black and Latinx districts.
We must completely dismantle and reform the public education system with increased funding. That is the only way we will be able to ensure every student has access to an equal education. If we don’t, our students will fall further behind their international peers.
What can we do?
- Offer free universal pre-k to all families
- Expand federal and state funding for public K-12 schools
- Increase pay and benefits for educators
- Guarantee free 2-year & 4-year degrees for all Americans at public colleges and universities.
- Update state K-12 curriculums to be historically accurate.
- Pass legislation for universal free school meals
- Defend Affirmative Action
- Protect the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act