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Dems' Ed Platform at the DNC!
This week marks the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which celebrates the nomination of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz for President and Vice President of the United States. On Monday, enthusiastic delegates from across the country voted (and had a state by state dance off!) to approve their 2024 party platform and offer their votes to officially nominate the ticket. The policy platform contains an education agenda that covers universal early childhood education, supporting high-quality K-12 schools, affordable and accessible higher education, and relief from student loan debt. The agenda specifically calls for:
Tripling Title 1 funding for schools serving low-income students;
Universal free school meals;
Wraparound healthcare and nutrition services;
Access to career and technical education, and other pathways to academic success;
Investments in STEM programming and professional development opportunities for teachers;
The banning of for-profit, private charter schools, and upholding public transparency standards for public charter schools;
Opposing private school vouchers and other policies that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education;
Improving education for English learners and multilingual learners;
Promoting school integration through magnet schools and transportation initiatives;
Reducing the stigma associated with mental health issues, so that students can seek out services;
Increasing funding for the Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights—and protecting students from discrimination, bullying, and harassment;
Fully funding the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which promotes equal educational opportunities for students with disabilities;
Pay increases for educators;
And more.
The platform also says Democrats will work to end "high-stakes testing," a concept we are flagging because we believe firmly in the need for standardized testing that is comparable across schools, jurisdictions, and time—so that we can monitor how well schools are meeting students' needs. To be clear, the platform is explicit that Democrats continue to back the need for assessments to "provide families with clear, accessible, and consistent information about how well schools are serving individual students and groups of students."
By and large, as Education Week notes, this platform stays very close to that of President Joe Biden—which included historic investments in public education and student learning during the pandemic. In Connecticut, that pandemic funding supported the implementation of research-based literacy work under Right to Read. We are excited to see the Harris administration continue that education legacy.
CT Faces Persistent Teacher Shortages as School Year Nears
As students prepare to return to classrooms, Connecticut’s K-12 teacher shortages remain a pressing issue. The Hill notes that, while there has been some recovery from pandemic shortages nationally, low-income schools particularly continue to struggle with gaps. This June, the article says, “the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 290,000 job openings in state and local education jobs but only 152,000 hires.”
Here in Connecticut, a recent report from the State Department of Education identified 11 certification areas experiencing critical shortages. “Filling vacancies with certified teachers in these areas is an urgent need for Connecticut's students," the report reads. "Especially in the four priority shortage areas (Mathematics, 4-12; Science, 4-12; Bilingual Education/TESOL, PreK-12; and Special Education, PreK-12)."
The report outlines several state and federal incentives to attract candidates to these shortage areas—such as mortgage assistance programs, financial inducements for retired teachers to be reemployed, loan forgiveness and grants. However, despite these efforts, Connecticut still lacks a comprehensive solution to this enduring problem.
This year, the state passed HB 5436, aimed at modernizing teacher preparation and certification systems. The legislation created the Connecticut Educator Preparation and Certification Board (CEPCB) to oversee the teacher pipeline and offer ongoing recommendations for improvement. The Connecticut State Department of Education recently launched a new webpage to house the work of the CEPCB, as well as a list of its newly appointed members.
The CEPCB’s first major task is to deliver a report by January 2025 that examines:
Outdated regulatory and statutory provisions related to teacher preparation and certification;
Connecticut’s approach to assessing teacher candidates’ content knowledge; and
Whether alternative approaches to assessing content knowledge should be offered.
New Teacher Track, a coalition our affiliate ERN CT is a part of, created a timeline of the CEPCB's other legislated deliverables. We hope that this standards board will pursue simplicity and inclusion, value educators as working professionals, and be thoughtful about career trajectories. Modernizing Connecticut’s teacher pipeline will require bold systems change, so that all students have access to high-quality, diverse educators.
FAFSA Behind Schedule Again
The US Department of Education has announced that its financial aid application, Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)—which is usually released in October—will be delayed until December. The decision follows last year's glitch-y attempt to update the form, which resulted in delays in students receiving their financial aid packages and in the college admissions process at large.
As reported by Politico, some federal advocates have defended USEd's decision, arguing that having a reliably functioning form this year is more important than meeting an October deadline. But Republicans have pointed out that some students may miss out on college altogether if they lack timely information about their eligibility for aid. Inside Higher Ed explains that USEd is planning for a slow roll-out that will occur in phases, in order to test the system for bugs.
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