Kamala Harris’ Opinion on Education

As the voting day draws ever closer, being informed about the primary candidates is paramount. Even if you’re ineligible to vote, this election is a decisive and divisive matter to you as an American resident being affected regardless of your proximity to circling a candidate’s name on a ballot. Now, there’s one issue that isn’t swarming the campaign ads or speeches, but it’s one that’s content is all about you and your friends: Education. The two candidates have starkly different opinions and stances concerning your schooling, with the current Vice President Kamala Harris sporting a more progressive angle.

The first issue is school choice (when a parent spends public school funding on different forms of education for their child, like charter schools or private schools), and while Harris has said very little about it, she has voted against a bill amendment for school choice in the past. The DNC Platform and her running mate, Tim Walz, both strongly oppose school choice. With the DNC platform and Tim Walz believing school choice diverts needed spending from public education and a focus on improving them in favor of other forms of education. Harris has repeatedly expressed her allegiance to strengthening public education and increasing federal funding for public schools mainly serving lower-income families.

Harris has demonstrated public support for protecting LGBTQ students. Harris supported the Equality Act in 2019, an act that would provide further protections for students (and other groups of people) based on their sexual and gender identity, and she denounced Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” laws in a speech. Tim Walz has also routinely showcased his support for LGBTQ students, with him signing a bill that forbade libraries from banning books based on ideology. This practice has mainly targeted LGBTQ+ books. Harris has also denounced that there is woke indoctrination going on in schools, and instead flipped the switch, accusing Florida’s education system of belittling the horrors of slavery and pushing a propagandist version of black history in a fiery attack. Harris also criticized right-wing extremists for, in her eyes, attacking the freedom to learn and know our country’s true history, citing book bans in particular. She has also attacked Project 2025’s plan to eliminate the Department of Education.

The democratic candidate has received support from the two largest teacher unions, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. Harris has expressed her plans for better wages and working conditions for teachers. Harris has also chosen a former teacher, the previously mentioned Tim Walz, as her running mate.

A central point of Harris’ stance on education is her plan and vision for student debt relief. Continuing that of President Biden’s determination to enact student loan cancellation and student debt relief plans, Harris touts on her website, “She’ll continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and to make higher education more affordable.” As showcased in the latter part of the quote, Harris has illustrated not only her belief in relieving the weight of student debt but also in lowering the cost of higher education, incentivizing its affordability. Harris has frequently demonstrated her dedication to making child care more affordable and accessible, increasing funding for child care, and working on three- and four-year- Pre-K options folds.

To hear more about candidate Donald Trump’s educational views, check another of the recent articles on Lions Roar Now.