Congressman Rick Nolan

Representing the 8th District of Minnesota
Facebook icon
Twitter icon
Flickr icon
YouTube icon
RSS icon

Education

As a former teacher and Head Start program director, I believe there is no better investment than in the education of our children, and I will always make this a top priority. In the 113th Congress, I have focused legislative efforts on ensuring that students and teachers are not overly burdened by the costs of education, so that students can enter the workforce with low interest rates and without burdensome debt hanging over their heads.

  • I cosponsored the Student Loan Relief Act (H.R. 1595) to keep student loan interest rates at 3.4%, the interest rate that students currently pay on Federal Direct Stafford loans. Saddling our newest generation of bright young workers with unbearable debt is no way to govern.
     
  • More recently, I have cosponsored the Truth in Tuition Act (H.R. 2020), which requires schools to present each incoming class of students with tuition estimates, in order to help students get an honest picture of what their education will cost. 
     
  • We must also invest in our children’s education early through Head Start programs, and support all the teachers of our great nation. I cosponsored a bill (H.R. 2141) that would extend an income tax break to Head Start teachers who spend their own money on classroom supplies, the same tax breaks we currently extend to elementary and secondary school teachers.

More on Education

Oct 2, 2014 Press Release

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] Congressman Rick Nolan today announced six elementary schools in Crow Wing County have been recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as 2014 National Blue Ribbon Schools for their academic excellence and progress in closing achievement gaps.

“These six schools exemplify the high bar we set for ourselves in Minnesota when it comes to educating our youth,” Nolan said. “This well-deserved honor goes to all the students, educators, and families who make our schools truly exceptional.”

Oct 1, 2014 In The News

All six of Brainerd School District's elementary schools were named Blue Ribbon Schools by the U.S. Department of Education.

The department made the announcement Tuesday.

"It's something that really is for the entire community to celebrate," said Brainerd Superintendent Klint Willert. "It means the success of students, the wonderful teachers, and support staff that helped achieve the results we have."

Jun 5, 2014 Press Release

[DULUTH, MN] – U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan (MN-08) announced today that 8 students from Minnesota’s Eighth District accepted offers of appointment to one of the nation’s service academies.

Sep 5, 2013 Page
Information and instruction for people seeking nomination to a US Military Academy. You may also fill out a form requesting a military academy nomination.
Aug 1, 2013 Latest Update
On July 31st, I voted for H.R.1911, the Senate-Passed Bipartisan Student Loan Bill, the compromise we reached on student college loan interest rates. Although it is by no means a long term fix for our students, it immediately lowers the rates at which students take out loans to pay for school, ties that rate to market rates over the next five years (with a cap), and allows students to lock into a low rate for the life of their loan.
Jul 19, 2013 Latest Update
Four questions for the House Majority about their badly mislabeled "Student Success Act" (H.R. 5) passed on Friday: 
 
1. When your bill short-changes kids with autism and other disabilities, low-income kids, kids trying to learn English, and kids struggling to get an education and build a future, how can you call it "The Student Success Act?"
 
2.
Jul 15, 2013 Latest Update
For the cost of the Iraq War, now at $2.19 trillion, we could have paid off America’s college debt, repaired every needy highway and bridge in America, funded 9 years of cancer research, and repaid every dollar of federal disaster relief, including Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina. With $275 billion left over.
 
Here are the numbers:
 
Iraq War Cost Total So Far = $2.19 Trillion 
 
Total U.S.
Jul 10, 2013 Latest Update

Rick and Mary tour the Soudan Underground LabIt sounds like something out of Star Wars – but this is way better. And way beyond anything you or I ever learned in high school physics.