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2020 presidential candidates on charter schools and voucher programs

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Presidential election
Republican Party Donald Trump
Democratic Party Joe Biden
Green Party Howie Hawkins
Libertarian Party Jo Jorgensen

This page includes statements from the 2020 presidential candidates on charter schools and voucher programs. These statements were compiled from each candidate's official campaign website, editorials, speeches, and interviews. Click the following links for policy statements about related issues: education and student loan debt.

The candidates featured on this page are the 2020 presidential nominees from the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, and Green parties.

Republican Party Donald Trump
Democratic Party Joe Biden
Green Party Howie Hawkins
Libertarian Party Jo Jorgensen

Charter schools and voucher programs

Republican candidates

Donald Trump

Donald Trump's campaign website says, "President Trump’s proposed budgets have made school choice a priority. The President's FY2018 Budget Request included $1 billion in funding to Furthering Options of Children to Unlock Success Grants for public school choice and $250 million to promote private school choice through the Education Innovation and Research Program. In his FY2019 budget President Trump proposed a $5 billion federal tax credit on donations that fund scholarships to private and vocational schools, apprenticeships programs and other educational opportunities." [source, as of 2020-06-22]

Mark Sanford

Mark Sanford's campaign website says, "There are only two ways to raise individual productivity and the wages that come with added levels of production – in investment that leverages our ability and through education that enhances our abilities. Education is key, and to compete effectively in the 21st Century its vital everyone of us recognize how lifelong learning is important. It must start early, and it's never finished. In this I believe in as many choices as possible that reflect the different ways we learn." [source, as of 2019-09-10]

Joe Walsh

Joe Walsh's campaign website does not include a statement outlining his position on charter schools. [source, as of 2019-08-30]

Bill Weld

Bill Weld said in a speech, "Parents need more options regarding the education of their children. We need to support school choice. We need to support home schooling. We need to support charter schools. And we need to consider abolishing the U. S. Department of Education, transferring decision-making authority to the States and the parents of school-age and college-age children." [source, as of 2019-02-15]

Democratic candidates

Joe Biden

Joe Biden opposes federally funding charter schools. He said at a campaign event, "I do not support any federal money ... for for-profit charter schools — period. ... The bottom line is it siphons off money from public schools, which are already in enough trouble." [source, as of 2019-05-28]

Michael Bloomberg

Mike Bloomberg said in a speech, "I've always believed that the best way to reduce poverty is to prevent it in the first place, and that starts with teaching our children the skills and knowledge they need to pursue their dreams. So we closed schools that had been failing mostly minority communities for decades, and we opened new ones in their place that outperformed the old schools. We gave the New York City teachers a 43 percent raise to attract and retain the very best, and we more than doubled the education budget. We also got some important help from President Obama. We worked closely with his team on New York’s Race to the Top application which helped us raise standards and increase quality schools options, including charters, for families who had long lacked them." [source, as of 2019-01-21]

Cory Booker

Cory Booker wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times, "As a party, we need to take a holistic approach to improving outcomes for children who are underserved and historically disadvantaged. That must mean significantly increasing funding for public schools, raising teacher pay, fully funding the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, investing in universal preschool, eliminating child poverty — and yes, supporting high-performing public charter schools if and when they are the right fit for a community, are equitable and inclusive, and play by the same rules as other public schools."

Booker continued, "As a coalition, we have to acknowledge that our goals for federal education funding will continue to face serious political opposition. Supporting well-regulated public charters, in the meantime, is a meaningful complementary solution. The promise of better schools some day down the road doesn’t do much for children who have to go to schools that fail them today." [source, as of 2019-11-18]

Pete Buttigieg

Pete Buttigieg's campaign website did not include a statement about charter schools or voucher programs.

His campaign website says about education, "Freedom means empowering our children by investing in equitable public education and our nation's teachers. Today, too many children are being denied educational justice. From inadequate resources and critical teacher shortages to discriminatory disciplinary policies, students of color in particular are far too often not afforded the same educational opportunities as their white peers. And when the intellectual lives of students of color are diminished, America loses. The Schools of the Future Plan is our commitment to provide the resources needed to ensure every child gains access to the skills they need to meet the economy of the future. We will invest in an equitable public education system by massively increasing federal resources for students at Title I schools, issuing new regulations to diversify the teaching profession, and investing in high-quality state and local educational programs." [source, as of 2019-08-21]

Julián Castro

Julián Castro's campaign website does not include a position on charter schools or voucher programs.

Some of the education policies listed on Castro's campaign website include: "Create a universal, high-quality, publicly-funded, full-day Pre-K for USA Program for 3 and 4-year-olds. Support sustained training and education for pre-K teachers. Close the modernization gap of our nation's schools. Make a $150 billion dollar investment in school facilities, technology infrastructure, and organizational support across the pre-K through 12th grade system. Support investment in music, arts, and foreign language programs. Eliminate tuition at public colleges, universities, community colleges, and technical and vocational schools. Alleviate burdens of existing student loan debt, ensuring no student pays more than their income allows. Bridge the teacher pay gap with a federal tax credit that boosts pay by up to $10,000 per year. End the school-to-prison pipeline and reform student discipline practices." [source, as of 2019-08-29]

Tulsi Gabbard

Tulsi Gabbard's campaign website does not include a statement on charter schools and voucher programs.

Gabbard's campaign website says about education generally, "We need to make sure we are investing in the future of all of our children. In order to invest in our future, we have to provide adequate resources and meaningful accountability to ensure that all our students have equal access to quality education. The cost of tuition keeps too many people from pursuing a college education. We need to resolve student debt and guarantee college for all. From Trump University to Betsy DeVos, members of this administration have put a higher premium on personal enrichment than they have on improving our education." [source, as of 2019-09-26]

Kamala D. Harris

Kamala Harris' campaign website did not include a statement about charter schools.

Harris' website said about public education, "Public school teachers earn 11 percent less than similarly educated professionals. Teachers are more likely than non-teachers to work a second job. Ninety-four percent of teachers are paying out of pocket for school supplies. In 30 states, average teacher pay is less than the living wage for a family of four. The teacher pay gap is a national failure that demands a bold, national response. Kamala will make the largest federal investment in teacher pay in U.S. history to fully close the teacher pay gap during her first term. Her plan will provide the average public school teacher a $13,500 raise." [source, as of 2019-08-20]

Amy Klobuchar

Amy Klobuchar's campaign published a plan for her first 100 days in office which says she will, "stand firmly with our public schools and end discussions of Secretary Betsy DeVos’s $50 billion proposal to fund private school vouchers." [source, as of 2019-06-18]

Beto O'Rourke

Beto O'Rourke's campaign website did not contain a statement on charter schools or voucher programs.

Some of the education policies listed on O'Rourke's website include: "Achieve a system of universal pre-K. Invest in home-visiting programs. Ensure access to affordable, high quality childcare by increasing funding for the Child Care Development Block Grant and expanding the Child Care Tax Credit, making it refundable. Support increased wages for those working in early childhood education and care and provide loan forgiveness for early childhood educators. Immediately forgive outstanding student loan debt for public educators tax-free. Appoint a Secretary of Education who has a background in public education. Develop a $500 billion Permanent Fund for Equity and Excellence in Education with the goal of closing funding gaps based on race and income. Issuing a federal ban on the use of corporal punishment in schools, which is disproportionately used on black students and students with disabilities." [source, as of 2019-08-28]

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders supports banning for-profit charter schools and a moratorium on public funds to new charter schools until an audit is conducted.

Sanders' website says he will work toward the following: "Ban for-profit charter schools and support the NAACP’s moratorium on public funds for charter school expansion until a national audit has been completed to determine the impact of charter growth in each state. That means halting the use of public funds to underwrite new charter schools. We do not need two schools systems; we need to invest in our public schools system. That said, existing charter schools must be made accountable by: Mandating that charter schools comply with the same oversight requirements as public schools. Mandating that at least half of all charter school boards are teachers and parents. Disclosing student attrition rates, non-public funding sources, financial interests and other relevant data. Matching employment practices at charters with neighboring district schools, including standards set by collective bargaining agreements and restrictions on exorbitant CEO pay. Supporting the efforts of charter school teachers to unionize and bringing charter schools to the negotiating table." [source, as of 2019-08-23]

Thomas Steyer

Tom Steyer's campaign website does not include a position on charter schools and voucher programs.

His website says about education, "Without guaranteed access to a good education, there’s no such thing as equal opportunity. Our government must protect the right to a free, quality, public education from preschool through college and on to skills training." [source, as of 2019-09-10]

Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren wrote in a Medium post, "To keep our traditional public school systems strong, we must resist efforts to divert public funds out of traditional public schools. Efforts to expand the footprint of charter schools, often without even ensuring that charters are subject to the same transparency requirements and safeguards as traditional public schools, strain the resources of school districts and leave students behind, primarily students of color. Further, inadequate funding and a growing education technology industry have opened the door to the privatization and corruption of our traditional public schools. More than half of the states allow public schools to be run by for-profit companies, and corporations are leveraging their market power and schools’ desire to keep pace with rapidly changing technology to extract profits at the expense of vulnerable students. This is wrong. We have a responsibility to provide great neighborhood schools for every student. We should stop the diversion of public dollars from traditional public schools through vouchers or tuition tax credits — which are vouchers by another name. We should fight back against the privatization, corporatization, and profiteering in our nation’s schools."

Warren said she would take the following measures: "Ensure existing charter schools are subject to at least the same level of transparency and accountability as traditional public schools. End federal funding for the expansion of charter schools. Ban for-profit charter schools." [source, as of 2019-10-21]

Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang tweeted, "There are very good public schools and very bad public schools. There are very good charter schools and very bad charter schools. The goal should be to make more schools high-quality and effective - not denounce an entire category. I have friends who have put their heart and soul into charter schools for underprivileged kids who were being failed by our public school system. Many changed thousands of lives for the better. I admire their work a great deal. They were there for the kids. No other reason. Of course there are thousands of dedicated teachers in public schools who are doing incredible work each day. They deserve higher pay more respect and more support. They also deserve more flexibility in how they do their jobs. Castigating all public schools or all charter schools does educators a massive disservice by calling into question the work they do with our kids every day. We should be looking to make all of their jobs easier by putting resources into both schools and households." [source, as of 2019-05-17]

Green candidates

Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins' campaign website says, "I oppose privately-managed charter schools because they drain money from public schools. Charters are no more public schools than Lockheed Martin is a nationalized corporation just because 90% of its revenues come from Pentagon contracts. Student achievement in charters is no better than public schools on average despite charters’ ability and tendency to expel students who perform poorly. No new charters should be established and those that are performing poorly should be closed." [source, as of 2020-07-09]

Libertarian candidates

Jo Jorgensen

Jo Jorgensen's campaign website says she supports charter schools "if adding them causes the total cost of education to go down." Her website also says she supports "private forms of education that involve no government funding or control." [source, as of 2020-07-28]


Other policy pages

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Footnotes

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