Enhance Education
What I Believe
Education is the single best investment we can make in America’s future. It should be a right and a pathway to success, not a financial burden determined by your parents’ income. Every student must graduate with both core knowledge and the practical life skills necessary for independence.
The Problem: Debt, Digital Disadvantage, and Lack of Life Skills
Student debt has topped $1.7 trillion. This crippling debt forces young Americans to delay buying homes, starting families, or starting businesses, holding back an entire generation and the wider economy. At the K-12 level, essential class time is wasted due to slow networks and antiquated login systems, and too many children are disadvantaged by lacking computers or internet at home. Finally, our curriculum fails to teach the crucial financial and life skills necessary to survive and thrive after graduation.
What I'll Do - The Student Success and Financial Literacy Act - SSFLA
Free Higher Education & Workforce Skills: Implement a federal-state partnership to guarantee Tuition-Free Access to public universities, community colleges, and trade schools, up to a bachelor’s degree. Ensure this free access includes technical training, apprenticeships, and trade school certifications to address critical workforce shortages. We will also simplify and streamline existing federal student loan forgiveness programs and aggressively pursue refinancing options to lower interest rates for all current borrowers.
Fixing Schools & Preparing for Life:
- Mandate Financial Literacy: Require all high school students to complete a mandatory financial literacy course covering budgeting, credit management, taxes, and basic investment before graduation. Children need to learn how to handle their own money.
- Upgrade Digital Infrastructure: Invest in fixing the root causes of slow school internet. This includes funding for network infrastructure upgrades, efficient login solutions, and providing reliable internet access and devices to students who lack them at home, ending the homework gap.
- Support Teachers: Fund competitive salaries and provide professional development resources to retain and attract high-quality educators at every level.
Why It Matters
A smarter, more skilled workforce leads to a stronger economy, higher wages, and greater innovation. Eliminating the debt barrier and ensuring students are financially literate allows millions of Americans to contribute their full potential to their communities and the nation.