Joseph Biden (D) On Education
Ledyard King / USA Today
On No Child Left Behind law
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., said his 2001 vote to pass the education bill known as No Child Left Behind was a “mistake.” Signed into law by President Bush in 2002, the law requires every state to test students annually. Schools failing to make academic progress over several years could be closed or have their faculty replaced.
Biden wants to overhaul the law and give schools more flexibility in evaluating student performance. He also wants to spend billions more to fully fund the law’s requirements. He said he would pay for it by ending the war in Iraq, which he said would free up about $10 billion a month for education and other domestic programs.
On making college affordable
Biden wants to use tax credits to boost college enrollment. He would create a $3,000 refundable tax credit for low-income families struggling to pay tuition and expand Pell grant assistance and tax benefits to low-income families. He said he wants to instill “the expectation that all students should and can attend college by engaging students in the preparation and planning process starting in the eighth grade.” Biden missed the vote on a bill that would cut the interest rate on student loans by half, to 3.4%, and increase Pell grants from $4,310 in 2007 to $5,400 by 2012. President Bush signed the bill into law Sept. 27, 2007.
Other education priorities
Biden wants to reduce class size by giving states about $2 billion a year to hire 100,000 more teachers, primarily in schools with lots of needs and overcrowded classrooms. He would try to stem teacher turnover (at least one-third leave after five years) by providing mentoring to all beginning teachers and tuition aid for those who commit to teaching in low-achieving schools. He has also proposed to expand pre-kindergarten programs.
