Issue Position: Education

Issue Position

Supporting the Path to College and Career

As a senior member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, Congressman Scott believes that if we are going to properly prepare our country's youth for their future, we must ensure that we are giving them the fundamental tools necessary to grow into skillful and productive members of the workforce, starting from the beginning of childhood.

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION

Research shows that early childhood education during a child's early, formative years is critical to a child's brain development. Early education can help a child succeed academically as well as develop soft skills, such as curiosity and a motivation to learn. Studies have also shown that children who participate in a high quality early childhood education program are less likely to become involved in the criminal justice system, or be involved in violence or illegal drugs in later life.

One early childhood program that has been proven to be effective is Head Start and Early Head Start. Head Start was created in 1965 and is the most successful, longest-running, national early education and school readiness program in the U.S. Nearly 25 million pre-school aged children have benefited from Head Start programs nationwide. Head Start provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and their families. Unfortunately, because of automatic, across-the-board spending cuts required by sequestration, Head Start, among many other programs, will serve fewer families this year than in the past, hurting our nation's families who are already most in need of assistance.

PRIMARY/SECONDARY EDUCATION

We must work together to ensure that our elementary and secondary schools are not places where our children wither, but where they can thrive and grow. We know that all children, regardless of race, ethnicity, income, language, country of origin, or disability, need to start off on an equal playing field the best education available. The U.S. currently struggles with an "achievement gap;" certain groups of students - mainly minorities - fall far behind their higher-achieving peers. As long as the achievement gap exists, our children will be unable to reach their full potential. It is my hope that Congress will continue to work on this issue in its next reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Additionally, we must address the dropout problem that many schools are facing. Unacceptably low graduation rates have been obscured and accepted for far too long due to inaccurate data, misleading calculations and reporting, and flawed accountability systems. Approximately one-third of our students leave high school without a diploma. As disappointing as that is, the numbers are worse still for low-income students and minorities -- only slightly more than half of African-American and Hispanic students earn diplomas. Some schools, known as "dropout factories," produce the majority of African American and Hispanic drop-outs. We know that the more you learn, the more you earn over your lifetime, so dropping out of high school is serious impediment to future success. In order to begin to lower our nation's dropout rate, I am preparing to reintroduce the Every Student Counts Act. This legislation creates a high school graduation rate calculation that is consistent across states, requires reporting of graduation rates for different categories of students, sets meaningful graduation rate goals and targets, and removes incentives for schools to push out low-performing and at-risk students.

COLLEGE AND CAREER

A strong investment in education is one of the most important ways in which we can help keep America's workforce and economy strong for future generations. A good education can be the difference between the minimum wage job that barely keeps a person afloat and a job with a living wage and full benefits. In addition to increased earnings, individuals with higher levels of education are less likely to be unemployed, receive public assistance, work in unskilled jobs with little upward mobility, and become involved in the criminal justice system. For these reasons, an education past the high school level -- whether community college, a four year college, vocational training or a trade or apprentice program -- is important not only for earnings, but also for landing a good job that can support a worker and their family.

But the truth is that a high school degree alone just does not get you as far as it used to. In order to succeed today, both individually and as a nation, we need to be making greater investments in education. For many, the problem is still access to quality education. In a weak economy, it is particularly difficult for students to find ways to pay tuition. Many students apply for Financial Aid, which often consists of scholarships, loans and grants, including the well known Pell Grant. Unfortunately, for many students, the Pell Grant does not cover the full cost of tuition. It is my hope that we can increase the Pell Grant amount in the future so that this grant can cover a more significant amount of student tuition as the price of higher education continues to rise.

Student loans are critical resources that most students need to pay for higher education. However, that is money that must be paid back with interest. Understanding the high cost of these loans to borrowers, policymakers are always looking for ways to make the burden easier on students once they graduate. For example, the Income-Based Repayment program currently allows borrowers to cap their monthly federal student loan payments at 15 percent of their discretionary income, which is based on the borrower's income and family size. However, we still need to make sure that student loan interest rates aren't unreasonably high, leaving student shackled to debt for the rest of their lives. We must continue to work to ensure that students are equipped with everything they need to pursue their degree and are not overly burdened with debt. I have continually urged my colleagues in Congress to work diligently to improve access to a quality education by making higher education more affordable.

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