Strong Public Education, an End to Book Bans, and Free College For All

Public education has long been under threat, and now we're at the breaking point. Right-wing conservatives have consolidated think tanks and money to push a campaign to dismantle the Department of Education while disinvesting in public schools. Public schools are a public good. I do not support vouchers. For too long our schools have been allowed to go without maintenance, while teachers are woefully underpaid for the work that they do, and students and their families go without the academic, mental, and recreational supports all young people need to be healthy.

As a member of Congress for the 9th District, I would call for a major increase in funding across the board for our public schools so these important anchors in our communities are well-resourced to educate children while providing them with hubs of services to address community trauma, linkages to opportunities, and abundant enrichment and job opportunities for young adults.

I would introduce legislation to prohibit curriculum restrictions based on protected classes such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, etc. I would also push to nationalize legislation I chief-cosponsored in the Illinois Senate that is now law and bans book banning in publicly funded libraries. I also would bring forward legislation to end standardized testing in our schools.

I also will roll out my “Free College for All” initiative intended to make all community colleges free for all, as well as private colleges and universities free for all low income households. I also support reinvesting in our community colleges and would fight for wage parity for community college educators, paraprofessionals, and faculty. I will also strongly advocate for canceling student loan debt.