Education
Washington state public schools have hardworking students and a strong workforce of dedicated teachers and administrators. I am committed to supporting them and to helping make improvements to our public schools. Offering a world-class public education to Washington state students has always been, and remains, a top priority of mine. Investment in education represents investment in the skilled professionals and workers who define American economic success.
As the economy continues to recover, we need to make sure students get the training and skills they need to get the best jobs. That is why we need to do everything we can to make sure public K-12 education ensures our students are college and career-ready when they graduate, and that they have access to affordable higher education.
In Northwest Washington, students have access to many great colleges, including Western Washington University, Whatcom Community College, Skagit Valley Community College, Everett Community College, Edmonds Community College, Bellingham Technical College, Columbia College, Northwest Indian College and Trinity Lutheran, as well as branches for Central Washington University and Washington State University. I have long fought for access to quality higher education by keeping interest rates affordable and protecting students from aggressive lender tactics.
Accomplishments
- Fought to protect Washington state’s waiver under No Child Left Behind, and to protect Washington students, families, teachers and administrators from the harmful effects of losing the waiver. I have been an advocate for reauthorizing and updating the outdated requirements NCLB imposes on states.
- Support low-income students by introducing legislation to expand access to summer meal programs.
- Introduced the Bereaved Borrowers’ Bill of Rights Act to protect student loan borrowers from aggressive lender tactics when their cosigner dies or goes into bankruptcy.
- Cosponsored legislation to expand Pell grants to make college more affordable, the Middle Class CHANCE Act.
- Champion for STEM education at both the K-12 and higher education levels.
- Successfully fought to ensure school districts get timely Impact Aid payments so schools do not suffer from budgetary uncertainties caused by Impact Aid. Introduced the Local Taxpayer Relief Act of 2013 with Rep. Noem to provide permanent, reliable Impact Aid funding for schools.
- Introduced the Veterans Education Transparency Act to help student veterans get the most effective financial counseling tailored to their individual education benefit.