The Democratic Party’s 2024 election platform, ratified Monday in Chicago, rejects school choice initiatives, which proponents argue are essential for helping children escape failing schools. Instead, the platform supports increased government control and expanded funding for public schools.
The platform, signed during the Democratic nominating convention for president, emphasizes allegiance to teachers unions and supports progressive education policies, including the Biden administration’s reform of Title IX and teaching gender ideology curriculum in schools.
“This is just meaningless word salad that conveniently ignores the destructive policies of the Biden-Harris-Cardona education platform American families have suffered through over the past four years,” Michele Exner, senior adviser at Parents Defending Education, said to the Washington Examiner in a recent article.
“They partnered with teachers unions to keep schools closed for months, prioritized radical policies over the education of children, are attempting to force anti-girl policies in federally funded schools nationwide, and have done little to nothing to counter [the] learning loss their own policies created. Not to mention, their wasteful government spending did little, if anything, to help schools, but did cause inflation which continues to crush families.”
Chicago, the site of the Democratic platform ratification, is a city where tax dollars amount to a whopping $27 thousand per student, yet many students are failing to meet grade-level proficiency in reading and math.
Likewise, in Houston, where the standard of living is lower, approximately $11 thousand is spent per student annually, yet only 30% and 40% of students met grade-level expectations in math and literacy, respectively.
Yet the Democratic platform stands staunchly against school choice, expressing opposition to “private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships” and other forms of school choice. Further, the party argues that school choice is discriminatory, and “public tax dollars should never be used to discriminate.”
Teachers unions, which are heavily invested in maintaining the status quo in underperforming districts, support these efforts.
Conversely, proponents of school choice include parents who choose to remove their children in search of better educational options. School choice has gained traction among many parents, particularly those dissatisfied with the gender ideology and critical race theory introduced during remote learning in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Democratic platform highlights the $130 billion allocated to public through the American Rescue Plan, which critics argue did not aid in academic recovery, but instead funded progressive ideologies in K-12 curriculums and gymnasium updates, The Washington Examiner reported.
As funding from the American Rescue Plan is set to expire in September, critics anticipate that Democrats will argue against reducing emergency funding levels, suggesting that it will lead to decreased school funding.
Democrats also propose hiring 14 thousand new counselors and social workers to help students recover from pandemic disruptions and cope with issues such as gun violence. Additionally, the platform advocates for making universal pre-K, trade school and community college “free,” funded by taxpayer dollars. It emphasizes that “four-year college is not the only pathway to a good career,” and promotes investment in career and technical education.
The platform supports the Biden administration’s student loan transfer schemes, which seek to have taxpayers cover the cost of loans for elite college degrees. The Supreme Court has already struck down one such scheme, with a second still under judicial review.
Moreover, Democrats aim to uphold the controversial revamp of Title IX, which redefined sex to include claims of transgender identity. Critics argue that this will eliminate separate private locker rooms, restrooms and other spaces for girls and boys.
Further, the platform calls for “explicit protections for LGBTQI+ students” under Title IX. This overhaul has faced legal challenges, and lower courts have blocked its implementation in numerous states. The Supreme Court has affirmed these blockages as litigation continues.
