Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

As governor of North Dakota and now as U.S. Senator, I have supported policies to ensure education accountability is coupled with adequate local flexibility. The federal government should empower schools, administrators, and teachers to create local strategies that prepare students to succeed in a global, high-tech economy; not mandate rigid, one-size-fits all regulations.

In order to prepare our students to compete, we need to ensure that our teachers have access to resources and professional development. The future of our nation and our ability to compete in a global economy will depend on solid science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, training, and research. I am a member of the Senate STEM Education Caucus and the Senate Career and Technical Education Caucus and I sponsored the Innovate America Act, which would increase the number of STEM schools and place increased emphasis on developing STEM education.
Higher Education

I have worked to make sure that paying for college is affordable and fair. In 2013, Hoeven helped pass a permanent solution as a co-sponsor of the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act (S. 1334) that ties all federal student loan interest rates to the 10-year Treasury rate. We need to continue to work to make college more affordable and accessible to all who want a higher education, while doing all we can to make sure good jobs are available for those who have received their degrees.

North Dakota has world-class universities at the forefront of academic research and development. North Dakota State University (NDSU) and the University of North Dakota (UND) anchor the Red River Valley Research Corridor which has brought hundreds of millions of dollars into North Dakota since 2002, building research centers and infrastructure, training skilled workers for emerging industries and supporting North Dakota's growing technology sector.

As governor, I helped start the Centers of Excellence program which is an initiative by the state of North Dakota to help develop information and technology businesses. From 2007 to 2012 the Centers had a total economic impact of more than $630 million and directly created more than 1,000 jobs. The Centers continue to play a key role in developing and diversifying North Dakota's economy.
School Nutrition

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a regulation implementing new standards for school meals, effective at the beginning of the 2012-2013 school year. The rule attempted to curb obesity by strictly limiting calories, protein, and grains for all students without any flexibility to meet the needs of athletes or others whose dietary needs do not fit the guidelines. Complying with the rule exceeded federal funding by at least a projected $75 million a year, according to the USDA, placing greater strain on school budgets.

As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I have led the effort to bring flexibility for the program and to ensure that students' nutritional needs are being met. I sponsored the Sensible School Lunch Act which would provide school districts with greater flexibility to meet the nutritional needs of all students. My work on this issue led the USDA to agree to remove the caps on grains and proteins permanently.

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