Issues - Education

A former educator and a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Rep. Holt visits more than 50 schools a year.

”America’s prosperity  and our status as a global leader depend upon our investing in education and sustaining those investments over the long term.” – Rush Holt

Since securing a seat in 1999 on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Holt has worked to craft comprehensive education policies that improve early childhood education, invest in teacher training, set high standards for our students, and help make college more affordable.

Issues in this section:

• Making College Affordable for All
• Keeping Class Sizes Small
• Improving Math and Science Education
• Strengthening Foreign Language Education
• Supporting School Reform
• Improving Special Education
• Making Schools More Energy-Efficient

Making College Affordable for All

As a former educator, Rep. Holt has worked in Congress to invest in higher education to bolster the nation’s growth and global competitiveness in the future. He has helped pass legislation to make college education more affordable and accessible and to strengthen the education students receive.

Rep. Holt has worked in Congress to invest in higher education to bolster the nation’s growth and global competitiveness in the future. He understands that we need a smart, well-trained workforce if we are going to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.

In 2008, Rep. Holt helped write the law that lowered Stafford loan interest rates to 3.4 percent which saved the typical student borrower more than $2,000 over the life of their loan.  In 2012, Holt successfully led the effort to ensure student loan rates will remain at this reduced interest rate for another year, helping 144,000 New Jersey students save an average of $1,000.  Rep. Holt also is a cosponsor of legislation to make the interest rate cut permanent.

Holt also wrote the law that provides upfront tuition assistance — up to $16,000  ($4,000 per year) — for math, science and foreign-language teachers. Additionally, he helped establish the “American Opportunity” tax credit, a tax credit of up to $2,500 per student to make college more affordable for millions of low- and moderate-income students.

Rep. Holt also has opposed efforts by the House majority to slash funding for higher education.  He voted against the Republican “Ryan Budget” for Fiscal Year 2013, which would cut $166 billion from higher education, allow interest rates to double for 7.5 million students, freeze Pell grants at the 2012 level and eliminate Pell Grants for 8,374 New Jersey students. 

Keeping Class Sizes Small

The economic downturn has hit the tax base hard.  Schools have suffered, and many are being forced to cut services.  Rep. Holt believes that, because our future economic growth depends on a well-educated and innovative workforce, we cannot afford to shortchange our children by laying off teachers.

Rep. Holt introduced an amendment to help keep 400,000 teachers in our children’s classrooms and prevent class sizes from ballooning.  His amendment would have helped New Jersey and other states avoid harmful layoffs and rehire tens of thousands of teachers. Unfortunately, the Majority blocked Holt’s amendment on procedural grounds. 

Rep. Holt also is a cosponsor of the Local Jobs for America Act to create or save 1 million public and private jobs in local communities, including jobs for teachers and first responders. 

Improving Math and Science Education

Rep. Holt has led the effort in Congress to strengthen math and science education, arguing that “without math and science training, we cannot meet society’s needs and compete in a global marketplace.”

Holt successfully fought to restore $150 million in funding for the Department of Education’s Mathematics and Science Partnerships program, which had been zeroed out by the Republican majority and was proposed for consolidation by the Obama Administration.  

He is also the sponsor of a resolution expressing the sense of the House that science education should be given strong consideration during efforts to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Strengthening Foreign Language Education

Rep. Holt has been a leader in strengthening foreign language education, arguing that bolstering foreign language education for ensuing generations is vital to our nation's economic and national security.  Holt introduced the Foreign Language Education Partnership Act to create sequenced foreign language instruction from K-12, with the goal of graduating high school students with an advanced level of proficiency.

Holt also sponsored the Excellence and Innovation in Language Learning Act to coordinate language programs at the federal level and incentivize states to develop foreign language education plans.

Supporting School Reform

While Rep. Holt agrees with the basic principles of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind, he believes that the law needs to be reformed.  Holt is working to improve teacher training, to increase funding for science and foreign language education, and to strengthen collection of student data so that we can see how well individual students are learning.

Holt has called for a bipartisan reauthorization process that fixes the existing problems without abandoning poor and minority children and without abdicating responsibility for how federal dollars are spent.

Improving Special Education

Rep. Holt is a strong supporter of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which has ensured that students with disabilities receive the same educational opportunities as all other Americans. Under IDEA, these students are educated alongside their non-disabled peers in increasing numbers and with increasing academic success. However, Rep. Holt understands that there is still room for improvement in supporting students with disabilities.

Although IDEA calls for the federal government to fund up to 40 percent of the costs of educating children with disabilities, Congress has failed ever to meet that level of funding. Rep. Holt has advocated for increased attention and funding to special education programs.

Making Schools More Energy-Efficient

Rep. Holt introduced the School Building Enhancement Act to help schools implement energy-saving measures to reduce their energy costs. Energy bills are the second-highest operating expenditure for schools after personnel costs.

He also has cosponsored of the Fix America's Schools Today (FAST) Act to authorize $25 billion in funds for school renovation and modernization to improve 35,000 schools across the country.