State of South Carolina Archives: on Education

Brad Hutto: Keep state leaders focused like a laser beam on our schools

Gloria Bromell Tinubu: Lower college costs, support student loan forgiveness

As your Senator I will work to--
• Adequately Fund Pre-K-12 Public Schools and Increase Teachers' Salaries
• Lower the Cost of College Education
• Support Student Loan Forgiveness

Henry McMaster: Early education is the beginning of economic health

Henry McMaster: Parents must know what their children are learning

Jaime Harrison: Invest in public schools; end student loan crisis

James Emerson Smith: Put money and effort into making public schools work for all

Jim DeMint: Devolve education to states without abolishing Department

DEMINT: I agree that we need to devolve a lot of power out of Washington.

Q; Getting rid of it completely, is that a good idea? No more Department of Education?

DEMINT: I can see a role of looking at best practices around the state. But the fact is pretty clear, since the federal government increased its involvement in the '60s, the quality of our education relative to the rest of the world has declined. And we spend more per student than any other country in the world. So I've introduced a bill to devolve a lot of power from the federal government back to the states.

Q: But that's not the same as abolishing it. A lot of money comes from the federal government.

DEMINT: Well, she's very bold to say it. The fact is, education would probably work a lot better without the Department of Education. You can do it in a common-sense, reasonable way that doesn't disrupt any of the activities that we support

Joe Biden: Your zip code shouldn't matter in access to a good education

Education is going to be the bellwether in the 21st century. The idea you can make it in the middle class and sustain yourself there with just 12 years of education is not accurate, whether you need a trade and/or you have to go beyond that. We should change the way we educate our people. For example, why is it in every school, why isn't programming part of the science curricula that satisfies your science requirement?

Joyce Dickerson: Invest in quality public education

• Invest in universal pre-K programs and ensure every child has access to a quality public education;
• Invest in our small businesses, expanding opportunities for the continuation programs that expand entrepreneurship, while supporting policies that strengthen existing businesses;
• Invest in infrastructure for our state to expand broadband and technology opportunities, to create quality jobs;
• Support the extension of unemployment benefits, and work to provide a solution for the long-term unemployed, and
• Work with our Congressional Delegation and Members of Congress to provide bipartisan solutions to advance our community, state and nation forward.

Krystle Matthews: Ensure a free, quality, public education from preschool on

Mark Sanford: Endorses teacher-led prayer & displaying Ten Commandments

Indicate which principles you support regarding education.
• Support national standards and testing of public school students.
• Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
• Support displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools.
• Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
• Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
• Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.

Mike Bloomberg: Charter schools worked in NYC, but not everywhere

BLOOMBERG: I'm not sure they're appropriate every place. In New York City, they provided parents with an alternative. The charter schools are mixed in with the non-charter public schools, because our charter schools are public schools, as well. They've helped each other.

Q: Has it worked in NYC?

BLOOMBERG: When I came into office, zero NYC schools were in the top 25 of the state. When I left, 23 out of 25 were from NYC. We've cut the gap between the rich and the poor. We've made an enormous difference in all of the options that parents have. I raised teacher salaries by 43%. I put an extra $5 billion into our school system. I value education. It is the only way to solve the poverty problem is to get people a good education. And rather than just talk about it in New York, we actually did it.

Nikki Haley: Make a real investment in our charter schools

Pete Buttigieg: Teachers shouldn't have to pay their own classroom expenses

I have seen how teachers are expected to dip into their own pockets to furnish their classrooms. Teachers are being expected to handle the mental health challenges that their students are facing because we don't have an adequate mental health system to support kids.

And now some politicians, because they aren't willing to face the need for commonsense gun law, are expecting teachers to somehow transform themselves into highly trained armed guards when there's a threat to a classroom.

We have to show not only with compensation, but with support for the profession overall our regard for those who are educating our kids. And, yes, that means a secretary of education who will support teachers. It also means investing.

Henry McMaster: Parents may choose public, private, or for-profit pre-K

Placing an armed, certified school resource officer--SRO - in every school, in every county, all day, every day, has been one of my top priorities. At my request, the General Assembly began funding a grant program administered by the Department of Public Safety to provide school districts with funds to hire more resource officers for our 1,283 public schools. This year I am recommending an additional $27.3 million to provide an additional 188 schools with an SRO.

Henry McMaster: Freeze college tuition for in-state students

Henry McMaster: Parents should determine education best suiting their child

Jermaine Johnson: Increase funding for trade schools and tech academies

Ralph Norman: Let the money follow the child through school choice