Duncan Hunter (R) on Education
Ledyard King / USA Today
On No Child Left Behind law
Although Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., voted in 2001 for the education law known as No Child Left Behind, he is no fan of federal intervention in education. Signed 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.
Hunter says he would move to dismantle the top-down “expensive and inefficient” mandates of the law and has co-sponsored legislation to change it. That bill would give states the right to opt out of the law and allows them to “assume full responsibility for the educational needs of its students,” according to Hunter’s congressional website. States not willing to take this step would be required to follow current mandates under the law. “I believe we can educate students more effectively by returning school curriculum prerogatives to the states, local communities and, most importantly, to the family,” he said.
On making college affordable
Hunter has said he doesn’t think the federal government should play a large role in college affordability. He voted against legislation that Congress passed and the president signed in September 2007 that increased Pell grants from $4,310 in 2007 to $5,400 in 2012 and cut the interest rate by half, to 3.4%, on federally backed student loans.
Other education priorities
Hunter supports vouchers and government aid to pay for private school tuition, from kindergarten through 12th grade. He also wants to make sure home-schooled children have the same access to federal benefits, such as financial aid, as those attending public school.
