Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

"Public education is the bedrock of our democracy. It helps create good, active citizens, and it gives our families the tools they need to put food on the table and a roof over their heads. It also ensures that each generation of Americans will have more opportunities than their parents and grandparents did."

-- Senator Patty Murray

As a former educator, Senator Murray has focused on education issues from many perspectives over the years -- as a pre-school teacher, a parent, a PTA president, a school board member and now in the U.S. Senate. As a member of both the Senate Appropriations and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committees, she fights for the funding and support our schools and educators need to excel.

Senator Murray also believes that strong education programs and workforce development are essential to promoting a healthy workforce and a sound economy. She has been a long-time proponent of increasing education efforts that give our students the skills they need to succeed in the 21st century. These programs will not only open the doors for our children to new careers and opportunities, but they also help reduce drop-out and unemployment rates. To promote such education and development programs, Senator Murray introduced the Promoting Innovations to 21st Century Careers Act in Congress. This bill seeks to provide support and incentives for educators, businesses and labor to work together to provide our students with the skills and education they need to succeed in today's workforce.

Senator Murray has worked tirelessly throughout her life to ensure that our schools, teachers, and students are receiving the resources they need to succeed by supporting and introducing a variety of programs and legislation.

* Senator Murray is committed to making higher education accessible and affordable. She recently helped draft and pass legislation to increase financial aid to students in need and ease stress on students and parents who take out loans for college. The Health Care and Higher Education Reconciliation Act raised the maximum Pell Grant amount, invested in community colleges, and expanded the income-based repayment program to ensure Americans can afford their student loan debt.
* Senator Murray has worked hard to ensure full funding for special education. During Senate consideration of IDEA legislation, Senator Murray was a leader in calling for full funding. Her amendment to increase access to special education for children in military families and homeless and foster students was adopted by the Senate. She is also a cosponsor of the IDEA Full Funding Act, which authorizes full funding for crucial special education services.
* Senator Murray introduced legislation to help America's teenagers graduate from high school, and to provide teachers and students with the resources they need to succeed. Such legislation includes the FOCUS act, the PASS act, and the Financial Literacy Improvement Act.
* Senator Murray is recognized as the Senate's leading voice for making classrooms less crowded and more productive. Since 1998, her efforts have allowed districts to hire more than 29,000 new, qualified teachers nationwide so that more than 1.7 million students nationwide were benefiting from smaller classes.
* Senator Murray knows that literacy is the building block that keeps students engaged in school and on track to college and a successful career. That is why she introduced the LEARN Act, which would support comprehensive state and local literacy programs to ensure that children from birth to grade twelve have the reading and writing skills necessary for success in school and beyond. It will help ensure that high quality literacy instruction starts early and continues through high school for students who need extra support.
* As a former pre-school teacher, Senator Murray believes that all children should start school ready to succeed. She worked to reauthorize Head Start, the federal government's high-quality preschool program, to help better prepare millions of children under age 5 for school. She also introduced the Ready to Learn Act to expand public prekindergarten opportunities, and the Education Begins at Home Act to provide home visiting programs for parents to promote school readiness and prevent child abuse.
* Throughout her time in the Senate, Senator Murray has worked with the education, business, and labor
communities across Washington State to draft legislation and support programs that prepare our students for higher education and for today's workforce. She also worked on legislation to address the lack of students seeking jobs in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.

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