Dive Brief:
- Hillary Clinton, presumptive Democratic nominee for president, has tried to tread lightly among the split education community on the left, but the party’s platform fight revealed areas of discord that will be hard to overcome.
- The Hechinger Report writes supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) pushed through amendments to the party platform that support testing opt-out rights and greater oversight of charters, as well as opposition to the inclusion of student test scores in teacher evaluations.
- This would mean a shift from President Barack Obama’s education policies that Clinton has supported while also seeking support from teacher unions, which have demanded a change in education policy.
Dive Insight:
Clinton’s education platform is safe when it comes to expanding access to early childhood education. Reformers and advocates in the education community agree on the need to prepare students before they even get to kindergarten. This, incidentally, is where Clinton’s running mate, Virginia Sen. Timothy Kaine, had the most impact when he was governor. The Washington Post reports he has spent his time in the Senate fighting for career and technical education as well as efforts to address sexual assault in high school. His wife, Anne Holton, is the current secretary of education in Virginia and could inspire additional confidence in Clinton’s VP pick.
How the federal government approaches charter school expansion and oversight will almost inevitably anger at least part of the Democratic Party. But with much more control going back to the states through the Every Student Succeeds Act, the next president’s Education Department could find its hand limited in the matter.