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Marco Rubio on Education
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Give parents chance to send kids to school of their choice
Helping the middle class grow will require an education system that gives people the skills today's jobs entail and the knowledge that tomorrow's world will require.We need to incentivize local school districts to offer more advanced
placement courses and more vocational and career training. We need to give all parents, especially the parents of children with special needs, the opportunity to send their children to the school of their choice.
Source: GOP Response to 2013 State of the Union Address
, Feb 12, 2013
Give info to students on costs & benefits of student loans
Because tuition costs have grown so fast, we need to change the way we pay for higher education. I believe in federal financial aid. I couldn't have gone to college without it. But it's not just about spending more money on these programs; it's also
about strengthening and modernizing them.A 21st century workforce should not be forced to accept 20th century education solutions. Today's students aren't only 18 year olds. They're returning veterans. They're single parents who decide to get the
education they need to earn a decent wage. We need student aid that does not discriminate against programs that non-traditional students rely on--like online courses, or degree programs that give you credit for work experience.
When I finished school,
I owed over $100,000 in student loans, a debt I paid off just a few months ago. Today, many graduates face massive student debt. We must give students more information on the costs and benefits of the student loans they're taking out.
Source: GOP Response to 2013 State of the Union Address
, Feb 12, 2013
Became serious college student after football injury
My neck had bothered me throughout my freshman football season. The doctor informed me I might be suffering nerve damage.As a boy, I had dreamed I would one day play in the NFL. But I never really had the size or speed. That dream was over. I accepted
who I was and who I wouldn't be. I made a practical, adult decision. I had to transfer to a school that would prepare me to do something important with my life, something other than play football. But I didn't want to move back to Miami--
I would be too distracted there. And given how poorly I had done in my first semester at Tarkio, I couldn't afford any distractions. I wanted to go to the University of Florida, but I didn't have the grades to be admitted there. I heard a couple of kids
in the class below me at South Miami High were going to attend Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, and it sounded like a good fit for me. I decided to attend Santa Fe for a year, improve my GPA and apply for admission to Florida the following year
Source: An American Son, by Marco Rubio, p. 70-71
, Jun 19, 2012
1999: Pushed for early education for at-risk children
The education pitch was a central element of the campaign, and Rubio argued for change. "30% of children enter Miami-Dade County Schools unprepared to learn," he said. "You do the most important learning the 1st 5 years of your life, but we don't even
start school until age 6. We can't wait for the school years to intellectually challenge children. We have to do that in the beginning. I think the most efficient use of our money comes from investing in the front end."
Source: The Rise of Marco Rubio, by Manuel Rogi-Franzia, p. 93-94
, Jun 19, 2012
Silent on voluntary school prayer
Behind the scenes many Democrats considered Rubio someone with whom they could work. The most skilled politicians understand that their opponents need to perform for their constituents, but they still can be reasonable negotiators behind closed doors.
They deliver piercing lines when the audience is present or the video cameras are rolling, but are less strident when the paying patrons have gone home and the klieg lights are dimmed.
Rubio earned a reputation as someone who understood this, and it only helped him raise his statue and spread good-will.Rubio could be careful on controversial issues. Conservative lawmakers tried to engage him on voluntary school prayer and
abortion, but "he was nowhere to be found," an influential conservative Florida lawmaker said. "I always thought it was a shame because Marco was obviously the most gifted orator."
Source: The Rise of Marco Rubio, by Manuel Rogi-Franzia, p.110
, Jun 19, 2012
Presided over $2.3B cut to Florida public education
One of the key issues preoccupying central and northern Florida lawmakers in those days was school funding. Florida allotted its state funds based on a complicated formula that gave extra money to schools in highly populated areas, including the big
South Florida counties of Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach. Lawmakers from other parts of the state wanted to tweak the formula to divert more money to less populated counties, and they would go on to succeed in making changes that cost the
South Florida school systems tens of millions of dollars. While Rubio was speaker--a time when the economy was weakening and he was remaining steadfast against increasing taxes--he presided over a record cut to public education of
$2.3 billion, including more than $120 million taken from his home county's school budget.
Source: The Rise of Marco Rubio, by Manuel Rogi-Franzia, p.116
, Jun 19, 2012
Voted for more scholarships for private schools
Rubio voted YES on HB7145, Private School Scholarship Program Expansion Act (passed House 84-34): - Expands the Corporate Income Tax Credit Scholarship Program (CITCSP) for students enrolled in eligible private schools by raising scholarship amount
to $4000 for students in grades 6-8 and to $4250 for grades 9-12.
- Extends eligibility for the CITCSP to siblings of current recipients
- Allows for students receiving the McKay Scholarship for Students with Disabilities to be home schooled.
Source: Florida state legislative voting records
, Apr 30, 2007
Incentivize foreign language curriculum in elementary school
Preparing Our Students for the Global Marketplace- Ensure student mastery of the appropriate knowledge at each grade level by developing statewide end-of-course examinations to match new, more challenging standards
- Make Florida's Voluntary
Pre-Kindergarten Program a global model for school readiness
- Encourage trained and certified curriculum leaders in reading, math, and science, and in the new curricular standards in every school
- Provide strong incentives to identify gifted
elementary school children and require our elementary schools to allow these children to work at a suitably challenging academic level
- Provide our elementary school children with the advantages of learning a second language by encouraging
and incentivizing a foreign language curriculum in all elementary schools
- World-Class Teachers and Principals Make World-Class Schools
- Pay teachers and principals based on performance and merit
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future by Marco Rubio
, Nov 1, 2006
Prepare students for the Global Marketplace
Preparing Our Students for the Global Marketplace (College)- Create career academies and career training programs that allow students to become industry certified in a technical field, both as part of and after their high school education
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Ensure the full implementation of policies relating to credit transfers, the expansion of articulation policies, and the elimination of any unnecessary barriers or impediments to postsecondary students
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Make public funding of universities contingent on university performance and outcomes
- Develop strategic fiscal policies that address the scope of each program for which state universities and community colleges will receive state support
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Commit to having a Top 10 public university in Florida
- Encourage collaboration among universities, businesses, education colleges, and specialty public-private partnerships to provide excellent principal preparation programs
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future by Marco Rubio
, Nov 1, 2006
More options for student and parent choice in education
Empowering Parents and Students- Continue to add options for student and parent choice in education
- Increase virtual schooling
- Identify professions in high demand that are currently experiencing shortages and provide incentives for students
to remain in Florida and enter these professions
- Provide voters with the option of dividing large school districts into smaller districts
- Create and fund an Inspector General or other watchdog to track specific incidents of fraud,
waste, and abuse that occur each year in Florida public schools
- Require all schools that accept state funds, including community colleges and universities, to send parents annual notices delineating school content, performance, and spending
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Provide incentives to create innovative public-private partnerships that will expand after-school programs
- Pursue public-private partnerships to provide classroom construction, leasing, maintenance, and school services
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas for Florida's Future by Marco Rubio
, Nov 1, 2006
Integrate competition principles into education marketplace
Problem: Florida needs to further integrate the principles of freedom, competition, and choice into the education marketplace.Parental involvement is at the heart of education.
Parents know their children best, love them most, and are in the best position to know if a school is successfully teaching their children. Consequently, parents should have the means and ability to influence their children's education.
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas, by Marco Rubio, p. 36
, Nov 1, 2006
A+ Plan for Education: charters and choice
In 1999, we rocked Florida's K-12 education world by enacting the "A+ plan for education," a bold and revolutionary program based on high standards and expectations, clear measurement and accountability, and rewards and consequences for results.
This was only our starting point, and since then we have embarked on the largest effort of all fifty states to implement policies, practices, and finding initiatives to improve classroom reading abilities.
We significantly expanded education choice options by way of charter schools, virtual schools, and path-breaking scholarship programs.
We have accomplished so much, but there is still more to be done.
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas, by Marco Rubio, p. 8-9
, Nov 1, 2006
2+2 System: AA degree guarantees admission to university
Florida has attempted to control costs and expand access to postsecondary education in many ways. Florida's open admissions policy provides high school students access to the state's community colleges.
Florida facilitates the transition of students from secondary to postsecondary education--that is, from high school to a career center or on to a state university.
Florida's 2+2 system promotes our public community colleges as the primary point of entry for an undergraduate education, while the statewide articulation agreement guarantees community college graduates who receive an associate of arts degree admission
to a state university. By providing many student with affordable access to an undergraduate education, the 2+2 policy reduces the enrollment pressures on state universities for the first two years of an undergraduate program.
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas, by Marco Rubio, p. 23-24
, Nov 1, 2006
$4,500 voucher saves state $10,000 in per-student cost
Florida's school choice programs are comprehensive yet simple. Florida stands out partly because some of its choice programs are unique, but mainly because Florida simultaneously offers multiple programs. Each program is relatively pure, in that sense of
being designed around a particular, classic vision of school choice. In short, Florida offers a tapestry of school choice programs, and the success of the state's choice initiatives depends on this tapestry approach to coverage.Vito Fossella (R-NY)
introduced a House bill to create a federal tax credit of $4,500 per family to offset the cost of private or parochial school tuition. Florida school districts, meanwhile, receive about $10,000 per student enrolled in a public school. That is why school
choice means more money for education without raising the tax burden.
Thus the answer to Florida's education woes is not more spending but smarter spending. Success is not defined by per student spending or classroom size but by learning outcomes.
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas, by Marco Rubio, p. 37
, Nov 1, 2006
Private partnerships for provision of school services
Private sector efficiency can build schools in a fraction of the time while still ensuring safety and quality. Putting companies that specialize in construction in charge of building schools, rather than school boards that lack the expertise and technica
acumen of general contractors, makes sense.Public-private partnerships could also be extended to the provision of other school services. Privatizing school services such as transportation in numerous states, including Illinois and
Alabama, resulted in substantial savings and improves service quality. A 1998 study by Florida's Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability found that privatized school transportation could save Florida over $13 million annually.
Another are to examine for public-private partnerships is school provision of cafeteria food. In sum, public-private partnerships will enable schools to free up money for other educational uses.
Source: 100 Innovative Ideas, by Marco Rubio, p. 47
, Nov 1, 2006
Supports less federal & more local control of education.
Rubio supports the F2A survey question on education
Faith2Action.org is "the nation's largest network of pro-family groups." They provide election resources for each state, including Voter Guides and Congressional Scorecards excerpted here.
The Faith2Action survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: 'Less federal and more state / local control of education'
Source: Faith2Action Survey 10-FF-q7 on Sep 19, 2010
Page last updated: Apr 22, 2013
