Chris Christie presidential campaign, 2016/Education

	; ; Former presidential candidate; Chris Christie
	Political offices: ; Governor of New Jersey; (2010-2018); U.S. Attorney for New Jersey; (2002-2008)
	Christie on the issues:
	Taxes • Banking policy • Government regulations • International trade • Budgets • Agricultural subsidies • Federal assistance programs • Foreign affairs • Federalism • Natural resources • Healthcare • Immigration • Education • Abortion • Gay rights
	Republican candidate:
	Donald Trump
	Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage; 2028 • 2024 • 2020 • 2016

Ballotpedia's scope changes periodically, and this article type is no longer actively created or maintained. It may also contain neutrality issues.

This page was current as of the 2016 election.

When asked on January 18, 2016, what he would do to improve school lunches, Chris Christie responded, “Doesn't the president of the United States have anything better to do than to worry about what you are having for lunch? Let me tell you this, I don't care.” He added, “I think that this intervention into our school system is just another example of how the Obamas believe that they've got a better answer for everything than you do.”^[1]

At a campaign stop in Iowa, Christie has called for reform of higher education costs by requiring colleges to “itemize and unbundle tuition bills, so that students and parents have greater insight and control over where and how their money is being spent,” ABC News reported on December 7, 2015. He argued too much money is being spent on “an epidemic of rock-climbing walls.” He also questioned why every child is not given an iPad to replace “outdated” textbooks.^[2]

Christie, on October 9, 2015, decried the state of the American education system, commenting that it "is no longer designed for maximizing the potential of our children. It's designed for the comfort of the adults who run it." He suggested that teachers unions existed for profit and to protect inferior educators.^[3]

Speaking to CNN’s Jake Tapper on August 2, 2015, Christie said the Federation of Teachers was “the single most destructive force in public education in America.”^[4]

In a May 28, 2015, speech at Burlington County College in Pemberton, N.J., Christie came out against Common Core. He said, "It's now been five years since Common Core was adopted and the truth is that it's simply not working. It has brought only confusion and frustration to our parents and has brought distance between our teachers and the communities where they work. Instead of solving problems in our classrooms, it is creating new ones." New Jersey was one of the first states to adopt Common Core, which are national standards that outline skills every child should learn at each grade level. Christie voiced his support for the standards early in his first term, according to NJ.com.^[5]^[6]

In response to concerns from parents and legislators, Christie issued an executive order creating a commission to study the effectiveness of all testing in New Jersey's K-12 schools, according to a July 14, 2014, press release. The commission was tasked with studying the "volume, frequency, and impact of student testing occurring throughout New Jersey school districts, including those administered for college admission, college credit, and college pathways."^[7] The commission was also expected to study the effects of implementing Common Core education standards.^[7]

Christie expressed his support for Common Core on August 7, 2013, stating, "We are doing Common Core in New Jersey and we’re going to continue. And, this is one of those areas where I have agreed more with the President than not."^[8]

Christie implemented a new law in 2012 that made it more difficult for teachers to obtain and maintain tenure status. The law increased the number of years that a teacher had to work before receiving tenure from three to four years. It also stated that if a teacher earned low ratings in two consecutive years, he or she could be fired.^[9]

In 2011, Christie approved 23 applications for new charter schools in New Jersey.^[10]

In 2010, Christie signed a bill allowing parents to send their children to other public schools with low enrollment. This was limited to 10 percent of each district's students.^[11]

Leading up to his 2010 gubernatorial election, Christie emphasized education reform. Christie stated that he wanted to hold teachers accountable and to reward exceptional performance with merit pay.^[12]^[13]

In 2009, Christie told members of the Orthodox community that he supported, "a bipartisan bill to provide tax credits for parents who send their children to private and parochial schools."^[14]

In 2009, Christie expressed his support for state-funded vouchers that parents could use to send children in failing schools to private schools or to public schools in other school districts. He also indicated that he would like to see more charter schools in the cities.^[15]

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term Chris + Christie + Education