John Kerry 2004 On The Issues

Education is at the core of America's basic promise - that all Americans should be able to make the most of their potential.
John Kerry and John Edwards have a vision for American education: every child should be held to high standards, and every school should have the resources and the responsibility to meet those standards. Every classroom should have a great teacher. Every young person should graduate from high school, and every young person who works hard and wants to go to college should be able to afford it. And all Americans should be able to get the skills they need to succeed throughout their lives.

Today, our country is not realizing that vision. Schools do not have the resources they need to succeed, Washington is not working to make reform succeed and children are losing out. One million students are dropping out of high school every year, and because the price of college has risen by 35 percent over the last three years, 220,000 qualified young people were priced out of college last year.

John Kerry and John Edwards have a plan to do better-to ensure that all Americans can make the most of their God-given talents. They will offer schools the resources and the reforms they need to give every American child a great education, regardless of their income, race, or family background.

John Kerry and John Edwards will:

Meet Our Responsibilities To Our Schools
John Kerry and John Edwards will establish a National Education Trust Fund to ensure that schools always get the funding they need. They will also ensure that No Child Left Behind works for schools, states, and teachers by rewarding those who meet higher standards and rewarding schools that turn around and improve.

Continue Reform And Put A Great Teacher In Every Classroom
Great teachers are the foundation of a great school. As president, John Kerry will enact a new bargain that offers teachers more, including better training and better pay in troubled schools, and asks for more in return, including fast, fair ways to make sure that teachers who don't belong in the classroom don't stay there.

Offer 3.5 Million After-School Opportunities Through "School's Open 'Til Six"
John Kerry and John Edwards are strong supporters of after-school programs. They give students extra help, keep them out of trouble, and offer peace of mind to working parents. The Kerry-Edwards "School's Open 'Til 'Six" initiative will offer after-school opportunities to 3.5 million children, through programs that are open until 6 p.m. and offer safe transportation for children.

Make College Affordable For All And Expand Lifelong Learning
As president, John Kerry will offer a fully refundable College Opportunity Tax credit on up to $4,000 of tuition for every year of college and offer aid to states that keep tuitions down. And he will launch a new effort to ensure that all of our workers can get the technical skills and advanced training they need.

Resources And Reform For Our School

John Kerry and John Edwards believe that we need more resources and more reform in our schools.

In the last three years, funding for No Child Left Behind has fallen $27 billion below its promised levels. This has left inadequate support for the priorities we all share, like smaller classes, more textbooks, and more after-school opportunities. At the same time, Washington has had a rigid, top-down mentality that dooms reform to failure.

John Kerry and John Edwards believe we can do better. They will offer the resources and implement the reforms to make our schools work for all our children.

Create A National Education Trust Fund. Today, education spending is allocated at the discretion of Congress. That means it is vulnerable to funding cuts. The Kerry-Edwards National Education Trust Fund will ensure that new education programs authorized by Congress will be funded on a mandatory basis. As part of this initiative, John Kerry and John Edwards will fully fund No Child Left Behind Act, adding an average of about $10 billion per year to hire more teachers and shrink class size, offer more students extra individualized help, better involve parents in schools, and offer more after-school and preschool opportunities. At the same time, they will ensure that we get on a path to fully funding the federal special education law so that children with disabilities get the education they deserve.

Make Reform Work for Our Students. John Kerry and John Edwards are committed to making No Child Left Behind work for our children. Today, many states are measuring students with fill-in-the-bubble tests that limit both teaching and learning. John Kerry and John Edwards will offer the support needed for states to use sophisticated tests that capture the full range of skills that we want students to develop. They will also ensure accurate assessments of schools' success. For example, if a school was measured in the wrong way last year, they believe we should say so - a simple measure this administration opposes. And they will offer extra help to schools that are falling short, rather than leaving troubled students behind.

Put a Great Teacher in Every Classroom. Great teachers are the single biggest contributors to great schools. Yet today we don't treat teachers like professionals-we don't pay them enough and don't ask for enough. John Kerry and John Edwards' "New Bargain for America's Children and Teachers" will recruit or retain 500,000 high-quality teachers over the next 4 years. The plan will offer teachers more: pay hikes of $5,000 for teachers in high-need areas or shortage subjects, as well as better training, mentoring, and career development opportunities. At the same time, the plan will also ask for more, including rigorous new tests for new teachers, new pay systems that reward teachers who excel at improving student achievement, and fast, fair procedures for removing teachers who don't perform on the job.

Raise High School Graduation Rates. Today, nearly one-third of America's young people are not graduating from high school. John Kerry and John Edwards will turn 1 million potential dropouts into graduates over the next five years by expanding mentoring and tutoring, breaking up large schools that aren't working, and holding schools accountable for success in graduating students with a high-quality education.

Invest in School Construction and Modernization. Today, 14 million children are learning in sub-standard schools in need of major renovation, and half of all schools have a condition like polluted drinking water or soot-filled ventilation. As president, John Kerry and John Edwards will allow the federal government to issue $24.8 billion in school modernization bonds to help states and school districts repair and build modern schools. John Kerry and John Edwards support public school choice and charter schools, and because the greatest barrier to expanding charter schools is lack of facilities funding, the Kerry-Edwards school construction fund will dedicate funding for charter schools. The program will also support efforts to break up struggling large schools into smaller units.

Expand Preschool Opportunities. As president, John Kerry and John Edwards will work to make early education available and affordable for every American child. High quality early childhood education programs get kids ready for school, and in later years cut crime and increase job productivity by giving young children the opportunity to learn skills early on that put them on the path to success. John Kerry has supported increases in quality early childhood programs like Head Start and child care. He supported the Early Learning Opportunities Act, which became law in 2000 and helps families by expanding and coordinating early childhood development efforts. He believes we must continue to expand quality programs so that children can get off to a good start in life.

Offer 3.5 Million Children Afterschool Opportunities Through "School's Open 'Til Six". John Kerry and John Edwards are strong supporters of high-quality afterschool programs. These programs give students extra help, keep them out of trouble, and offer peace of mind to working parents. The Kerry-Edwards "School's Open 'Til Six" initiative will offer after-school opportunities to 3.5 million children, through programs that are open until 6 p.m. and offer safe transportation for children. John Kerry and John Edwards will also establish objective performance goals and require progress towards these goals.

Support A Well-Rounded Education. John Kerry and John Edwards support providing rigorous education in math and reading, and in addition, a well-rounded curriculum that includes science, history, literature, and the arts. They support measures to improve education in all of these fields.

College Opportunity For All

In America, every young person who works hard ought to have the chance to go to college. Making college affordable is about America's promise - that all people should have the chance to make the most of their abilities. It's also about America's future, since our ability to compete in the economy of tomorrow depends on our ability to secure skills and training today.

Today, we're not realizing that vision. In the last three years, tuitions have risen by 35 percent, and as a result, some 220,000 young people have been priced out of college. At the same time, many students don't go to college because they just don't think it's realistic for them.

We can do better. John Kerry and John Edwards have a comprehensive plan to expand college opportunity. They will:

Offer a College Opportunity Tax Credit on up to $4000 of tuition for four years of college. This credit will be fully available to families having trouble with the costs of college and to young people who are paying their way through school. And John Kerry will work with colleges to provide the benefits of the credit at the beginning of each school year, when students need it most.

Simplify the Student Aid Application Process. Today, there are more questions on an application for a $5,000 student loan than on an application for a $2 million small business loan. John Kerry will simplify the student aid application, allow many students to apply for college on a postcard, and make sure students can get information about college earlier in the application process.

Help More Young People Climb the Ladder to College. For many young people, college is a distant dream. John Kerry and John Edwards believe we should reach out to young people and show them the path to college. Through initiatives like GEAR UP, John Kerry will expand tutoring, mentoring, and college preparation classes, and he will also help more young people negotiate the college application process.

Help More Young People Finish College. Only about one half of Americans who go to college actually graduate. John Kerry will work with high schools and colleges to boost college completion. This means strengthening the high school curriculum, so that more students arrive at college with the skills to succeed. It also means giving parents more information about schools' graduation rates, and rewarding colleges that do an especially good job at ensuring that their students graduate.

Offer National Service Opportunities. John Kerry will make a new deal with hundreds of thousands of young people: If you will serve America for two years-working in a school, a health center, or strengthening America's security-we will make sure you can attend four years of college tuition-free.

Building The Ladder Of College Opportunity

Enrolling 1.5 Million More Students in College Within 5 Years

Today, college is more important than ever before. Studies show that college graduates will earn an average of $900,000 more than high school graduates over their careers. And in general, the fastest-growing and best-paying jobs require at least some college education.

Yet college is slipping out of the reach of millions of Americans - especially minorities and students from low-income families. The percentage of students with low incomes at many schools has declined since 1985. A high-achieving, low-income student is seven times more likely not to be in college than a high-achieving, more affluent child. Today, while 23 percent of all Americans in their late twenties have a four-year college degree, only 15 percent of African Americans and 9 percent of Hispanic Americans have degrees.

There are three critical barriers standing in the way of college success.

• Poor Preparation and Low Expectations. About 30 percent of American students drop out of school - closer to 50 percent among African-American and Hispanic youths. And even those students who stay in school are too frequently ill-equipped for success - about half of new college students take remedial classes.
  

• The Financial Aid Maze. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form has over 100 questions - far more questions than appear on an application for a $2 million loan from the Small Business Administration. In addition, "sticker shock" deters many students from attending college, since students and families who don't fully understand the complicated financial aid process tend to vastly overestimate tuition costs.
  

• Skyrocketing Costs. Average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges increased by 35 percent over the last three years. Because of tuition increases, an estimated 220,000 young people could not afford to enroll in four-year public universities last year.
  John Kerry and John Edwards will tackle these challenges and break down the doors to higher education. They will work to see that 1.5 million more Americans are enrolled in college by 2009, a key goal in helping America become stronger here at home. To achieve this goal, the Kerry-Edwards plan will:

Serve 2 Million Children Through GEAR UP. GEAR UP pairs students in high-poverty schools with college mentors. Mentors start working with students in seventh grade and stay with them until they graduate from high school. Through outreach and counseling, GEAR UP helps students master challenging coursework, navigate the college admissions and financial aid processes, and pay for college by providing scholarships. In 2001, President Bush tried to cut GEAR UP by $68 million. As president, John Kerry will expand GEAR UP by two-thirds so that it will serve 2 million children each year.

Simplify The Financial Aid Process. To make it easier for students and families to learn how financial aid will help them pay for college, John Kerry will:

• Create Faster Applications. John Kerry will allow students, beginning in their junior year of high school, to obtain estimates of their financial aid eligibility from the Department of Education based on tax return data. This will:
  

  • Enable students to learn about all the sources of aid available earlier in the admissions process so financial concerns don't deter them from applying to expensive schools

  • Simplify the application process by not requiring students to reproduce data the government already has.

  • Reduce errors and fraud, since tax return data are more reliable than data submitted specifically for financial aid.
    

• Create Simpler Applications, Including an "EZ" Form. As president, John Kerry will launch an intensive effort to reduce the number of questions on financial aid forms. He will support reforms that:
  

  • Create short, simple "EZ" tax forms - like a post card - for eligible students

  • Reduce the number of questions on application forms

  • Allow students who are applying to schools in particular states to fill out a much shorter, state-specific, electronic financial aid form
    

• Include All Federal Support in Aid Estimates. As president, John Kerry will ensure that financial aid estimates from the federal government and colleges include estimated tax credit benefits for each student, so that students see a fuller - and less daunting - picture of how much college will cost

Create A College Opportunity Tax Credit Available At The Start of Each Year. As president, John Kerry will provide approximately $50 billion in tax credits for each and every year of college. Working with colleges and universities, John Kerry will ensure that the College Opportunity tax credit is eligible for "advanced payment" so that students get the resources they need when tuition is due. And unlike current credits, John Kerry's tax credit will be refundable for our most economically vulnerable students and for those who receive other credits.

Stop Rising Tuitions. Today, states are facing nearly $90 billion in budget deficits, forcing them to cut higher education budgets. That leads to higher tuition, increased class sizes, and cuts to counseling, tutoring, and remedial coursework. Within John Kerry's $25 billion State Tax Relief and Education Fund, $10 billion will be targeted to higher education. Because John Kerry and John Edwards believe we can make the higher education system more efficient without sacrificing quality, they will require states that use the fund money work with their universities to streamline services and reduce duplication. For example, state colleges and universities would save millions of dollars annually if they worked together to purchase employee health care, energy and supplies in bulk.

Service For College, The Kerry-Edwards "Service for College" initiative will offer Americans the chance to earn the equivalent of their state's four-year public college tuition in exchange for two years of service. As president, John Kerry will set a goal of enlisting 500,000 young people a year in Service for College through the next decade.

Help Young People Prepare For College. Today, too many young people in America grow up believing that a college education is out of reach or are unprepared for college when they get there. As president, John Kerry will propose a new "I Have a Dream" scholarship to provide an additional $1,000 for students to participate in early intervention programs that help them prepare for college. These programs can reduce the number of college students who drop out of college or who need remedial courses. As president, John Kerry will also encourage more states to allow 11th or 12th graders to take college courses, ensure that Advanced Placement programs are available in all schools, strengthen instruction in math, science, and writing, and expand early intervention efforts like the GEAR UP and TRIO programs for students who are at risk of dropping out.

Help Young People Complete College. Today, the graduation rate at 4-year colleges has fallen to 54 percent. Recent evidence suggests that better counseling and support services will help keep students in college, as will exchange programs that allow students to attend other schools for classes that are unavailable at their school. In addition, students are often forced to repeat classes by policies that prevent them from transferring credits between community colleges and 4-year institutions. As president, John Kerry will provide more assistance to our higher education system to help them target services that will prevent students from dropping out and ensure that they are prepared to fill the jobs of the future when they graduate.

Open More College Opportunities for Women. For over 30 years, Title IX has helped open the doors of opportunity in higher education for millions of young women. Title IX has enabled greater numbers of women and girls to participate in sports, receive scholarships, and obtain other important benefits that result from participating in sports. Despite this progress, the Bush administration is considering many changes to Title IX that could undercut participation opportunities and scholarship dollars for women and girls, as well as other Title IX protections. John Kerry and John Edwards will defend Title IX and work to expand college opportunities for women.

The Kerry-Edwards Plan For “Next Economy” Skills

Math and Science, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning for All Americans

America's rising prosperity and global economic leadership have always been driven by the skills of our workers. From the introduction of universal high school in the early 1900s to the GI Bill, farsighted investments in education have driven the innovation and productivity that have raised standards of living for middle-class American families and made our economy the envy of the world.

Building a stronger economy of the future requires that the United States invests in the skills of our workforce. Today the global economy is increasingly demanding higher skilled workers, yet the growth in our skilled workforce has slowed. Today, other nations have overtaken the United States in preparing new workers with education and skills, particularly in math and science. Today, too few U.S. students are enrolling in and completing college and too few American workers are receiving the training and education they need to compete for higher-wage and higher-skilled jobs.

John Kerry and John Edwards believe America must do better in preparing a next economy workforce. They have a plan to help Americans get the skills they need to prosper in the next economy.

Challenges and Opportunities: Building the Skills Americans Need for the Next Economy

More Skilled Workers are Needed to Maintain Our Economy's Potential. Between 2000 and 2010, jobs associated with at least an associate or a bachelor's degree will grow by 23% - nearly twice the growth of all other jobs. Of the 20 fastest growing occupations, 10 are associated with at least a bachelor's or associate's degrees, and 10 demand strong IT skills. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001]

• But the Growth in America's Skilled Workforce Is Slowing. The rapid growth in the size of our educated workforce is now over. While our native-born workforce grew 44% from 1980-2000, we will see zero net growth from 2000-2020. [Aspen Institute, 2002]

Higher Education Is Key To Prosperity. On average, college graduates will earn $900,000 more than high school graduates over the course of their careers. [Census Bureau, 2002]

• Yet College is Slipping Out Of The Reach Of Millions Of Americans. While 23% of all Americans in their late twenties have a bachelor's degree, the same is true for only 15% of African Americans and 9% of Hispanics. This year, 220,000 young people were priced out of college by record increases in tuition. [Census Bureau, 2002]
  

• And America Faces a College Completion Crisis. The U.S. has the highest college enrollment rate among G-8 countries, but its college completion rate is near the bottom of the developed world. Only 52 percent of students who enter four-year colleges graduate within six years, including just 38 percent of African Americans and 40 percent of Hispanics. [Department of Education, 2003; OECD, 2003; GAO, 2003]

America Is Losing the Math and Science Race. Less than one-third of American students are "proficient" in math and science, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, and even at top universities, 20% of math classes are at a remedial level. American colleges graduate 60,000 engineers a year, one-tenth as many as are being graduated in China and India. [Department of Education, 2000, 2003; Education Trust, 2002; Washington Post, 12/04/02]

• And Engaging Women and Minorities is Key to Regaining our Edge: Today, fewer than 30% of scientists and engineers are female, black or Hispanic. Yet the projected shortage of workers in fields like computer science, engineering, and physical science could be virtually eliminated if women and minorities were represented in parity with their percentages in the total workforce. [BEST, 2004; Congressional Commission on the Advancement of Women and Minorities in SE&T, 2000]

The Kerry-Edwards Plan: Investing in Math and Science, Higher Education, and Lifelong Learning

Building the Math, Science and Technology Workforce of the Future. To maintain our competitive edge, we must meet our economy's growing demand for highly skilled math, science and technology workers. The Kerry-Edwards plan will:

• Offer Summer Institutes and Mentors to 50,000 K-12 Math and Science Teachers and $5,000 Bonuses for Teachers Entering These Fields.
  

• Provide $300 Million in Innovation Grants to Encourage 1 Million Girls and Minorities to Pursue Science and Math: Among the initiatives supported will be all-girls math/science schools, afterschool programs and internships with local businesses. This program will serve up to 500,000 students in three-year programs -- reaching 1 million every four-year cycle.
  

• Increase The Number of Undergraduate Majors in Math and Science, by fully funding the "Tech Talent" challenge grant program and increasing support for math/science programs at colleges serving a high share of disadvantaged students, including Hispanic Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
  

• Double National Science Foundation Graduate Scholarships for Math and Science.

Addressing the College Completion Crisis and Graduating 1 Million More Students Over 5 Years. John Kerry has already offered a plan to enable more children to seek a college education by expanding the GEAR UP program and strengthening high school curriculum. Under the Kerry-Edwards plan, the number of students graduating will increase by 1 million over 5 years. It will:

• Require Colleges to Report and Share with Parents and Students Annual Data on the Number of Low-Income, Middle-Income, and Minority Students Both Enrolling and Graduating.
  

• Create a $100 Million College Completion Fund to Reward Colleges Based on Their Success in Increasing the Number of Pell Grant Students They Graduate.

Making Four Years of College Affordable and Attainable for All Americans. A college degree is increasingly important to success in today's economy, but increasingly hard for average Americans to afford. John Kerry has already proposed a new, fully-refundable College Opportunity Tax Credit on $4,000 of tuition for all 4 years of college. The Kerry-Edwards plan will ensure colleges do their part by keeping tuitions down. It will:

• Offer $10 Billion in Fiscal Relief for States to Fund Higher Education Provided They Commit to Keeping Tuition Increases No Greater Than the Rate of Inflation.

A Next Economy Lifelong Learning Initiative. Workers of all skill levels need access to high-quality education and training to move up to better, higher paying jobs. The Kerry-Edwards plan will ensure our workers can get the technical skills they need and can use online technologies to fit advanced training into their busy lifestyles. It will:

• Modernize Financial Aid Rules to Benefit Working Adults Who Want to Take Advantage of Online Educational Opportunities.
  

• Partner with Community Colleges to Develop State-of-the-Art Online Course Offerings.
  

• Support New Community College/Business Collaborations to Train Workers in Key Areas of High Technology Job Growth. The Kerry-Edwards plan will expand the National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education program, create new on-site training opportunities at businesses to help workers move up to higher-skilled positions, and increase apprenticeship programs in key high growth fields.

Source: John Kerry for President 2004 Web Site