Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

We need to ensure that our schools are able to raise academic standards, close the achievement gap, and ensure all students have a highly qualified teacher. And if we are going to stay competitive in a global economy, we need to do more to make higher education affordable for all Americans. A quality college degree has always been the cornerstone of the American dream, opening the door to job opportunity and professional fulfillment. As a member of House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health & Human Services and Education, education has been one of Congresswoman DeLauro's top priorities.

Priorities in Education:

Supporting Early Child Education

Investing in our children in the earliest years enhances early childhood development and leads to their success in later years. Congresswoman DeLauro has fought to increase funding for Head Start - unquestionably the most effective early childhood development program ever developed. Head Start has provided comprehensive child development, literacy, and family services to more than 20 million pre-schoolers from working families. That is why she worked hard to pass the "Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act"; and has also established the bi-partisan Congressional Baby Caucus to focus public policy on the healthy development of infants and toddlers.

Increasing Federal Funding for Elementary and Secondary Education

Congresswoman DeLauro believes that ensuring our public schools are given the resources and the support of the Federal government is among government's central obligations. She has worked hard to prevent teacher layoffs and fully fund Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education; the Individual with Disabilities Education Act and after-school programs. She has fought to reform the No Child Left Behind Act by introducing legislation to provide states with more flexibility in measuring student achievement; allowing schools to target school choice and supplemental services; and ensuring that NCLB's highly qualified teacher provisions are both rigorous and reasonable. These reforms are reasonable solutions to a system that too often is failing our children

Expanding Access to Higher Education

One of the most important links to getting a college education is a quality high school education. That is why Congresswoman DeLauro has long supported TRIO and GEAR UP programs to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. And to make college more affordable, she has fought to raise the maximum Pell Grant award. Due to increases in tuition and fees, Pell Grants do not cover as many credit hours as they used to. The Pell Grant provides grants to nearly 4 million low-income undergraduate students with average family incomes of $17,300. With Congresswoman DeLauro's support, the maximum Pell grant level is at $5,550-- $200 over last year.

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