Education and Jobs

I support the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which rolls back many of the failed Washington-centric education policies. This legislation ends the Common Core mandate and other federally prescribed academic standards imposed on our states, and these long overdue reforms give our individual states greater flexibility to design and implement their education standards as they see fit.

Additionally, when it comes to preparing young people to enter the workforce, it is important that we bridge the gap between employers and students to make sure we are properly equipping students according to the needs of the local job market. In today’s world of ever-changing and advancing technologies, it is vital that we provide opportunities for students to pursue trades and promote career and technical education. That’s why I’ve put forward bipartisan legislation, called the JOBS Act—or the Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students Act—which will allow students to receive Pell Grants for short-term job training programs.

As the cost of higher education continues to rise, we must ensure that students and families are aware of the tools and resources available to help them budget and plan for their futures. That is why I joined Democrats and Republicans in putting forward three bipartisan bills that would help provide students and their families with better information about the costs of college, from the initial college search, through the application process, to ultimately accepting financial aid. I also introduced the Student Transparency for Understanding Decisions in Education Net Terms (STUDENT) Act that would require a disclosure detailing the total amount of interest to be paid over the life of a student loan to pull back the curtain and give prospective students a clear estimate of the costs they would owe years down the road.