In a stunning show of disrespect for educators and public schools, several candidates on the GOP primary debate stage last night called for public funding of private schools, an end to the unions that protect educators’ income and working conditions, and the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education, led by former Connecticut teacher and education commissioner Dr. Miguel Cardona.
“The only way we change education in this nation is to break the backs of the teachers’ unions,” said Senator Tim Scott. “They are standing in the doorhouse of our kids, locking them into failing schools, and locking them out of the greatest future they could have.”
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie also attacked teachers’ associations, accusing them of “putting themselves before our kids” and boasting about his fights with state and national teachers’ unions during his governorship, when he said they deserved “a punch in the face.”
Four of the presidential primary candidates—North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former Vice President Mike Pence, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy—pledged that if elected, they would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education.
“Let’s shut down the head of the snake: the Department of Education,” Ramaswamy said.
Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley added, “…there’s a lot of crazy woke things happening in schools.”
While most decisions impacting schools are made at the state and local level, CEA President Kate Dias notes, “It’s crucial that we have leaders in the White House and at the highest levels of government who support public education, uplift our profession, and respect the work we do.”
She adds, “Look at states where teachers’ unions have been deliberately weakened by politicians and those with a profit motive. Teaching and learning conditions have eroded right along with them. Enormous class sizes, teachers without a say—that’s not the future we want for our children. When we call on educators to engage politically, this is a prime example of why it matters.”
