Ted Cruz in EduWatch 2015

On Education: 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."

On Education: 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."

On Education: 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."