Chris Dodd (D) On Education
Ledyard King / USA Today
On No Child Left Behind law
Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., would keep intact the basic accountability-driven framework of the education law, known as No Child Left Behind, that President Bush signed in January 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.
Dodd wants to spend more money on failing schools, a departure from the law’s emphasis on punishing schools that perennially score poorly on tests. Dodd voted for the legislation in 2001.
On making college affordable
Dodd says no one who wants a college education should be denied one. As president, he would make community college free for anyone who can’t afford a traditional four-year university by partnering with states to subsidize tuition at community colleges. Dodd says he can pay for the program through cuts in federal government subsidies to student lenders.
Dodd 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
Dodd proposes a number of programs that require local buy-in and lots of money: universal pre-kindergarten for low-income families, a school modernization fund, smaller class sizes and a longer school day. Dodd also wants to develop national academic standards that states would voluntarily adopt instead of having a mishmash of different programs.
