Education and Biden’s State of the Union

This from Elvie Blad, and EdWeek’s coverage of Biden’s March 7th State of the Union, as well as other sources.

In his State of the Union address Thursday night, President Biden outlined an ambitious agenda for K-12 education, calling for significant investments to boost teacher pay, expand early childhood education, and support pandemic recovery efforts.

Biden framed his proposals as critical for maintaining American economic competitiveness, stating quote – “To remain the strongest economy in the world we need the best education system in the world.”

On teacher compensation, the President urged states to use federal funding to give all public school teachers a raise, saying quote – “We can all agree, good teachers merit a raise.” While he did not specify details, proposals are pending in Congress to establish $60,000 as a minimum teacher salary nationwide.

Turning to early education, Biden called on lawmakers to provide access to pre-K for all 3 and 4-year-olds. Citing research, he said children who attend pre-K are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a college degree.

The President also touted his administration’s efforts to promote tutoring, summer learning programs, and career and technical education pathways as part of the pandemic recovery agenda unveiled in January.

He spotlighted the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which has helped eliminate student debt for about 800,000 teachers and other public service workers since he took office.

In emotional moments, Biden recognized two guests related to gun violence in schools – Keenan Jones, a teacher whose debt was forgiven, and Jazmin Cazares, whose 9-year-old sister was killed in the Uvalde shooting last year. He renewed calls for an assault weapons ban and universal background checks.

The republican response was from Senator Katie Britt, whom republican’s have branded “America’s mom,” as she sat at a kitchen table. Her focus dwelt on border security and govenment spending. America’s mom didn’t mention education.