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Ted Cruz on Education
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Race-to-the-Top is blackmail against the states
Common Core is a disaster. And if I am elected president, in the first days, I will direct the Department of Education that Common Core ends that day.The Obama administration has abused executive power in forcing common core on the states.
It has used race-to-the-top funds to effectively blackmail and force the states to adopt Common Core. Now, the one silver lining of Obama abusing executive power is that everything done with executive power can be undone with executive power, and
I intend to do that.
Beyond that, I intend to work to abolish the federal Department of Education and send education back to the states and back to the local governments.
And let me say finally, the most important reform we can do in education
after getting the federal government out of it, is expand school choice; expand charter schools and home schools and private schools and vouchers, and scholarships. And give every child in need an opportunity to access to a quality education.
Source: 2016 GOP primary debate in Miami
, Mar 10, 2016
Abolish the U.S. Department of Education
- March 2015.The Department of Education: "We need to abolish the U.S. Department of Education." March 2013.
- Common Core: "We should repeal every word of Common Core. Education is far too important to have it
governed by unelected bureaucrats down in Washington. The federal government has no authority to do things like set the curriculum in education. That needs to be at the state level or, even better, at the local level."
- March 2015.
Curriculum and local control: "If [curriculum is controlled] at the local level, you can go to the [local] school board meeting, and if the curriculum being taught to your kids doesn't make sense, you can make your voice heard,
you can speak out and say, 'This isn't right.' Every one of us should have control over what's being taught to our kids."
Source: Fordham Institute EduWatch 2016 by Brandon White
, Apr 29, 2015
The rich already have school choice; give it to the poor
- March 2015.School choice: "School choice, in my view, is the civil rights issue of the twenty-first century. It is an issue I have been passionately involved in for decades. And I think it is the right thing to do, but I think it
also represents a tremendous opportunity."
- March 2015.Broadening school choice: "School choice has been here since the dawn of time. The rich and middle class have always had it.
All it is about is giving kids whose parents don't have the resources the same ability to choose an excellent education as the rich and middle class kids."
- March 2014.Homeschooling: "Education reform, school choice, and home
schooling have been passions of mine for decades. Every parent has a right to educate his or her children--to provide the home, to teach the values that the parents believe are right for their children."
Source: Fordham Institute EduWatch 2016 by Brandon White
, Apr 29, 2015
Supports ending racial preferences for college admissions
- June 2013.Affirmative action: "Today, by a 7-1 vote, the Supreme Court vacated the lower court ruling [in Fisher v. University of Texas] upholding the University of Texas's use of racial preferences in admissions.
Discriminating because of race is wrong, and this was a victory for our color-blind Constitution. In recent years, universities have made major strides to expand admissions for minorities and low-income students, working hard for the American dream.
Universities should continue to do so, expanding opportunity for everyone--but that can be accomplished without discriminating on the basis of race."
- Sept. 2012.Financial aid: "Student aid is critically important. In my life,
education opened doors for my parents and for me that never would've been opened. We should take the funding, give it to the states, and put the states in the position to make the decisions how to have the greatest impact in their communities."
Source: Fordham Institute EduWatch 2016 by Brandon White
, Apr 29, 2015
Right to education: public, private, charter, or homeschool
Just about every chance he gets, Cruz says he believes school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. On the Common Core state standards, Cruz says, "We need to repeal Common Core. We need to get the federal government out of the business
of dictating educational standards. Education is far too important for it to be governed by unelected bureaucrats in Washington. It should be at the state level or even better at the local level."At Liberty University in March 2015,
Cruz said, "Imagine embracing school choice as the civil rights issue of the next generation. That every single child, regardless of race, regardless of ethnicity, regardless of wealth or zip code, every child in America has a right to a quality
education. And that's true from all of the above, whether it is public schools or charter schools or private schools or Christian schools or parochial schools or home schooled. Every child."
Source: Forbes Magazine "2016 Candidates Want You to Know" series
, Mar 24, 2015
We should thank parents who homeschool
At the Homeschool Iowa conference in March 2014, Cruz said, "We love our children and we take seriously the biblical admonition to raise them up to walk in a godly manner. Thank you for the financial commitment you give by not being in the paid
workplace, the commitment of time, the commitment of energy, the commitment of passion for your kids. I'd like to speak on behalf of your children to say thank you. What you are doing is making a difference and it's a difference that will be felt for
generations to come. Their children and their children's children will thank you for the impact you are having on your kids preparing them to go forward."
In 2015, Cruz said, "Imagine that every single child in America has a right to a quality education, whether it is public schools or charter schools or private schools or Christian schools or parochial schools or home schooled. Every child."
Source: Forbes Magazine "2016 Candidates Want You to Know" series
, Mar 24, 2015
Local control of education instead of Common Core
In stump speeches, Cruz stresses that he wants to repeal or roll back the Common Core education standards placed on states from the federal government.
He is a co-sponsor of Local Control of Education Act, which allows states to opt out without affecting their ability to receive federal grant money.
Source: PBS News Hour "2016 Candidate Stands" series
, Mar 23, 2015
Facilitate school choice for poor Americans
An aide to Cruz said reforms to give low-income students a greater variety of educational options has "been one of his
strong policy preferences since he first entered the public arena, and it's something he'll continue to talk about." ÿ
Source: The Hill weblog 2014 coverage of 2016 presidential hopefuls
, Jan 28, 2014
Education decisions best made at local level
The Senate Conservatives Fund has developed a questionnaire that we require candidates to complete before we consider an endorsement. A candidate's answers to these questions will reveal whether they consistently apply conservative principles to their
positions on important issues. - Do you believe education decisions are best made at the local level, and will you support efforts to allow states to opt out of the No Child Left Behind law?
- [The SCF endorsed Cruz].
Source: 2012 endorsee questionnaire from Senate Conservatives Fund
, Jun 6, 2012
Denounce the Common Core State Standards.
Cruz co-sponsored Resolution against Common Core
Congressional summary:: Strongly denouncing the President's coercion of States into adopting the Common Core State Standards by conferring preferences in Federal grants:
- Whereas the development of the Common Core State Standards has transformed into an incentives-based mandate from the Federal Government;
- Whereas the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 prohibits the establishment of a national curriculum by the Department of Education;
- Whereas President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced competitive grants through the Race to the Top program to adopt 'internationally benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace';
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--- States and local educational agencies should maintain the right and responsibility of determining educational curricula;
- the Federal Government should not incentivize
the adoption of common education standards; and
- no application process for any Federal grant funds should provide any preference for the adoption of the Common Core State Standards.
Opponent's argument against (CoreStandards.org): The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. 45 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards [not adopted in TX, NE, AK, MN, and VA]. The nation's governors and education commissioners, through their representative organizations the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) led the development of the Common Core State Standards and continue to lead the initiative. Teachers, parents, school administrators and experts from across the country together with state leaders provided input into the development of the standards.
Source: HRes.476 & SRes.345 14-SR345 on Feb 6, 2014
Block funding for Common Core; it's too heavy-handed.
Cruz signed Letter from 11 Senators
Letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Labor Health and Human Services, and Education: "Eleven U.S. senators signed a letter asking Senate appropriators to block the use of funding to the Education Department to promote the Common Core education standards. The senators wrote a letter asking for appropriations legislative language 'to restore state decision-making and accountability with respect to state academic content standards.' Text of the letter:"
While the Common Core State Standards Initiative was initially billed as a voluntary effort between states, federal incentives have clouded the picture. The selection criteria designed by the U.S. Department of Education for the Race to the Top (RTTT) Program provided that for a state to have a reasonable chance to compete for funding, it must adopt a "common set of K-12 standards" matching the description of the Common Core.
Source: Letter on Sen. Grassley's Senate website 15_Lt_Edu on Apr 4, 2014
Page last updated: Jul 09, 2016