The Biden education plan

In Washington, it can sometimes be hard to distinguish what comes first: the policy or the politics. While we would all like to believe that our federal leaders think about doing for the people before they do for themselves, the evidence is pretty clear (especially right now), that does not always happen. For example, presidential candidate Joe Biden’s recent release of his education plan (officially called “The Biden Plan for Educators, Students, and Our Future”) might be construed by some as being, first and foremost, a deft political move.

Biden’s plan was released in the midst of a public firestorm about whether schools should welcome students and teachers back into the classroom this fall. At the center of it all was the Trump administration, pushing for school buildings to open regardless of what health experts and educators say or think — from that point on, every media outlet in the country (and a good many around the world) was focused on education.

A calm and soothing Joe Biden entered all this tumult with an education plan that reads like a manifesto on how a compassionate and rational government can actually improve things for students, families, and educators. It was the perfect “yin” to the Trump administration’s “yang,” and the timing could not have been better. Even though die-hard Trump supporters will denounce every dollar proposed in Biden’s plan, calling it another example of the federal government trying to take over local schools, it is impossible to ignore the candidate’s strong support for local leaders and his wise decision to focus on the issues that matter most to voters — support for teachers, equity, and childcare. It is important also to note that, as I write this at the end of July, the Trump administration has presented no formal education plan at all, no set of ideas to attract voters in November. His willingness to let Secretary Betsy DeVos’ tone-deaf narrative be the administration’s final word on education could prove to be a costly mistake.

Putting the politics aside, Biden’s plan is both ambitious and strategic, starting with his inclusive assertion that all educators — not just teachers but also teacher aides, coaches, and everyone else who works with kids at school — are worthy of respect and support. How, specifically, does he propose to support educators? For one thing, Biden’s plan promises to triple the funding for the Title I program and require that districts make more competitive salaries for educators a priority when using the funds. He also promises to support district efforts to create opportunities for professional advancement so excellent teachers need not leave the classroom to further their careers. The fact that Biden addresses this significant but below-the-radar issue speaks to the depth of his knowledge about the profession. It is perhaps fortunate that his wife, Jill, is a widely respected educator who teaches at a community college (read: not the Ivy League), giving him some authentic insights into this issue.

Tackling inequity

Biden’s plan does not shy away from addressing what is by far the biggest challenge facing educators and policy makers today: how to make public education more equitable for low-income students of color. Since the 1965 passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, policy makers have struggled to level the playing field for students of color, and while some progress has been made, funding and achievement gaps persist. A July 2020 analysis by the Century Foundation suggests that U.S. public schools are underfunded by nearly $150 billion annually, with the impact of that shortfall being felt predominantly by minority and low-income children. It is safe to say that the pandemic will only further exacerbate the problem. Biden’s plan points to a bigger, more robust Title I program to address these concerns, but as the Black Lives Matter movement has laid bare for anyone who cares to see, racial and economic inequities are deeply ingrained in American society. It will take more than just Title I dollars to seriously address the needs of low-income communities of color.

We are at a point in our political history where putting your ideas and beliefs on the table for the whole world to see is both refreshing and rare.

To that end, Biden’s plan addresses a range of related issues that contribute to the inequities in our nation’s education system. Educators of color are a valuable but rare commodity in public schools despite the research showing that students of color benefit from having teachers who look like them (Goldhaber, Theobald, & Tien, 2019), and Biden’s plan promises support for more innovative recruiting and training strategies to diversify the nation’s teacher population. Biden also calls out the growing number of wealthy communities that have been able to secede from larger school districts that include low-income students of color. His plan promises to reinstate the U.S. Department of Education’s guidance on legal actions to support desegregation (drafted during the Obama administration) and provide grants to school districts that want to diversify their schools. Finally, Biden acknowledges what many of us have learned during the COVID crisis: Schools do a lot more than just teach students. Biden’s plan promises more support for “community schools” that provide low-income students and families with much-needed services that go beyond teaching and learning.

Support for the youngest children

Proposals to fund universal prekindergarten have been deeply researched and thoroughly debated, yet though the idea has widespread support, it still gets little traction as a national imperative. Biden’s plan (and a hundred plans before it) supports universal preK for all three- and four-year-old children. Making the case that the nation’s economy depends on all families having reliable childcare, the plan highlights the cost-benefit payoffs of a nationwide program. Only a handful of states currently offer universal preK, but almost a year of parents working at home and trying to raise children at the same time may well prove to the voting public that such a program is an excellent use of taxpayer dollars. Whatever the reason, Biden would be wise to keep talking about it.

The Biden plan also calls for more support for child development centers in local communities as well as home visiting programs for new parents. These smaller policy targets may seem like one-offs to plump up a campaign platform, but Biden’s attention to these concerns reinforces his image as a man who pays attention to the concerns of everyday people. For the communities that have already invested in quality programs to support families and children, the evidence is clear: Positive interventions that help and support parents can have a profound impact on a child’s long-term well-being and development. While parenting has never been easy, the need for this kind of support has never been greater. (It is hard to imagine how challenging the last year has been for young families.)

At this point, you may be wondering if I work for the Biden campaign (I don’t). I assure you my enthusiasm for the Biden education plan is tempered with an equal measure of cynicism and experience. To be sure, campaign platforms and policy proposals like these are meaningless when taken at face value, but we are at a point in our political history where putting your ideas and beliefs on the table for the whole world to see is both refreshing and rare. Some people have said that “God is in the details,” and I think this certainly holds true for policy making. Biden’s education plan is filled with ideas big and small. If he is elected and is willing to lean into these plans and promises and help broker some kind of peace and reconciliation within our fractured Congress, then our public schools will likely be much better off, pointed toward a future that values all students, all educators, and the many diverse communities they serve.

References

The Century Foundation. (2020, July 22). Closing America’s education funding gaps. Washington, DC: Author.

Goldhaber, D., Theobald, R., & Tien, C. (2019). Why we need a diverse teacher workforce.
Phi Delta Kappan, 100 (5), 25-30.