Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Our economy has made quality, affordable education more vital today than ever before, but our educational system hasn't kept pace with our changing world. Our schools remain underfunded and all too racially segregated; meanwhile, hedge-fund billionaires are attempting to privatize and capitalize on our public education system. As the child of a working-class, immigrant family, I worked my way through high school and college; I know the enormous challenges facing students and families in our pursuit of quality education. As a State Senator, I will fight for:
Free tuition for all at CUNY and SUNY, including covering the living expenses of students whose families can't afford to support them
More teachers in our public schools, and in turn smaller class sizes so that every student has the support they need to succeed
Reforming Foundation Aid distribution to ensure that working-class, majority-minority school districts like ours get the millions in funding to which we're legally entitled
Expanding social services such as counseling in schools to support our children and end the school-to-prison pipeline
Maintaining the charter cap, making sure our school system remains publicly governed and controlled by all of us.

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