We need to ensure that our schools are able to raise academic standards, close the achievement gap, and that all students have a highly qualified teacher. And we need to do more to make higher education affordable for all Americans. A quality college degree has always been the cornerstone of the American dream, opening the door to job opportunity and the chance to move up in society. As of the senior Democrat on the committee that funds the Education Department, education is one of Rosa’s top priorities.

Supporting Early Childhood Education
Investing in our children in their early years enhances their development and leads to success in later years. Rosa has fought to increase funding for Head Start, the most effective early childhood development program ever developed. Head Start has provided comprehensive development, literacy, and family services to more than 20 million pre-schoolers from working families. She has also worked to promote an early learning focus in the Race to the Top program and has established the bi-partisan Congressional Baby Caucus to focus public policy on the healthy development of infants and toddlers.

Increasing Federal Funding for Elementary and Secondary Education
Rosa believes that ensuring our public schools are given the resources and the support they need is among government’s central obligations. She has worked hard to prevent teacher layoffs and fully fund Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Individual with Disabilities Education Act and after-school programs. Rosa believes that educating the whole child means more than teaching to meet the requirements of a test.  She has fought to reform the No Child Left Behind Act to provide states with more flexibility in measuring student achievement and to give schools the ability to target resources to students in greatest need of support. She strongly supports teachers, calling for reforms to ensure that all students receive high quality instruction in the classroom, including providing teachers with strong preparation and professional development and valuing the work that they do each day. Rosa persistently works to find solutions to a system that too often is failing our children.

Expanding Access to Higher Education and Making It More Affordable
One of the most important links to getting a college education is a quality high school education. That is why Rosa has long supported TRIO and GEAR UP programs to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. And to make college more affordable, she has fought to raise the maximum Pell Grant award. Due to increases in tuition and fees, Pell Grants do not cover as many credit hours as they did previously. The Pell Grant provides funds to more than nine million low-income undergraduate students, with over 75 percent of recipients having family incomes below $30,000. With Rosa’s support, the maximum Pell Grant award is $5,550, up more than $800 since 2008.  Rosa has also worked to curb the rise in student debt by calling on Congress to keep student loan interest rates low and close financial aid loopholes being exploited by for-profit institutions.