Mike Huckabee (R) On Education
Ledyard King / USA Today
On No Child Left Behind law
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Republican, supports the education law known as No Child Left Behind. Signed by President Bush in 2002, the law requires every state to test students annually. Failure to meet certain requirements results in reduced federal funding to schools.
Though he has said opponents of the law have maligned it as unwarranted federal intrusion, Huckabee agrees states should oversee implementation of the law. “While there is value in the No Child Left Behind law’s effort to set high national standards, states must be allowed to develop their own benchmarks,” he wrote on his campaign website.
On making college affordable
If elected president, Huckabee says he would be willing to provide federally funded, state-administered scholarships for students who go into national service, such as teaching in high-poverty schools. He also supports scholarships for low-income students who do well in high school.
Other education priorities
When he was governor of Arkansas, Huckabee emphasized arts and music education for young students. He’d like to continue that as president, saying it’s “crucial that children flex both the left and right sides of the brain. … Our future economy depends on a creative generation.”
