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Education

Earl believes that strong and continued federal support for education is essential to our success as a nation, especially with rapidly emerging new technologies.

A strong educational system is one that creates citizens with sound reasoning skills, innovative thinking, and creative problem-solving skills – attributes that our workers need to not only compete in an increasingly global economy, but to contribute to the vitality and sustainability of their own communities.

Numerous studies have shown that every dollar spent on education has a multiplier effect on the future of our children, communities, and economy. 

PreK-12 Education

Throughout his career, Earl has been fighting for a strong PreK-12 public education system for all. He does this by supporting: 

  • Universal Pre-kindergarten programs, such as Head Start, which yield some of the largest positive results for enrolled children and their families.
  • More federal funding for K-12 public education; 
  • Protections to end discrimination against students based on sexual orientation or gender identity, including not allowing students to use the bathroom for the gender which they identify; 
  • Full funding for the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which Congress approved 50 years ago but has never fully funded, to meet the needs of every student, no matter their ability level;
  • Federal investment in crumbling school infrastructure, including the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which pump billions of dollars into the education sector to electrify fleets, and to rebuild and renew resilient public schools;  and 
  • Commonsense gun violence prevention measures to protect kids in school from the threat of mass shootings. 

Higher Education

Earl also strongly supports efforts to make higher education more accessible, including: 

  • Increasing the size and eligibility of Pell Grants;
  • Expanding the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program and the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program;
  • Increased investment in Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs that provide alternative pathways to success for students, including the Perkins grant program and Oregon’s unique career pathways program;
  • Fully funding outreach and student services programs such as TRIO that support students from disadvantaged backgrounds;
  • Efforts to crack down on predatory for-profit colleges that take advantage of some of our most vulnerable students;
  • Providing in-state tuition rates for refugees and asylum seekers;
  • Strong Title IX protections so that students, no matter their gender, feel safe on their college campus. This includes higher standards for how universities handle allegations of sexual assault and attempt to prevent assaults from occurring in the first place; and
  • Adequate funding for community colleges, which provide a low- to no-cost alternative for students seeking continuing education with flexibility.