PUBLIC EDUCATION

Research shows the most powerful indicator of academic achievement is the socioeconomic status of a student’s family. The second most powerful indicator of academic achievement is the socioeconomic status of a student’s peers. (Kahlberg, 2012). If we truly want to eliminate education gaps based on race and geography, we can begin by looking at the way students are assigned to schools through socioeconomic indicators.

I will:

• Support education bill to update our 25-year-old Foundation Budget education funding formula. We’re now underestimating statewide education costs by $1-2 billion every year. These reforms are a critical part of closing the achievement gap and ending classroom cuts facing schools across our state year after year.
• Support universal kindergarten and early education
• Reject raising the charter school cap
• Support more access to bilingual education