Democratic Jr Senator; previously Representative (MI-8)
Has long opposed school vouchers
Education: Give parents vouchers to send children to private schools with public money?
James: Yes.
Let parents "use their tax dollars to send their children to the best schools."
Stabenow: No. Has long opposed school vouchers. Says create world-class public education.
Source: 2018 CampusElect.org Issue Guide on Michigan Senate race
, Nov 1, 2018
Supports student loan refinancing and Pell Grants
Q: Refinance student loans at lower rates, paid for by more tax on high earners (Elizabeth Warren proposal)? Increase federal aid, like Pell Grants?
John James (R): Unknown. Would "have to take a more detailed look" at student loan forgiveness before
commenting.
Debbie Stabenow (D): Yes. Author of Reducing Educational Debt Act addressing student loan refinancing. Voted to raise number of Pell Grants & maximum amount per grant. Voted to make 2 years of community college free.
Source: CampusElect.org Issue Guide on 2018 Michigan Senate race
, Oct 9, 2018
Offer every parent Charter Schools and public school choice.
Stabenow adopted the manifesto, "A New Agenda for the New Decade":
Create World-Class Public Schools Now more than ever, quality public education is the key to equal opportunity and upward mobility in America. Yet our neediest children often attend the worst schools. While lifting the performance of all schools, we must place special emphasis on strengthening those institutions serving, and too often failing, low-income students.
To close this achievement and opportunity gap, underperforming public schools need more resources, and above all, real accountability for results. Accountability means ending social promotion, measuring student performance with standards-based assessments, and testing teachers for subject-matter competency.
As we demand accountability, we should ensure that every school has the resources needed to achieve higher standards, including safe and modern physical facilities, well-paid teachers and staff, and opportunities for remedial help after school and during summers.
Parents, too, must accept greater responsibility for supporting their children�s education.
We need greater choice, competition, and accountability within the public school system, not a diversion of public funds to private schools that are unaccountable to taxpayers. With research increasingly showing the critical nature of learning in the early years, we should move toward universal access to pre-kindergarten education.
Goals for 2010
Turn around every failing public school.
Make charter schools an option in every state and community.
Offer every parent a choice of public schools to which to send his or her child.
Make sure every classroom has well-qualified teachers who know the subjects they teach, and pay teachers more for performance.
Create a safe, clean, healthy, disciplined learning environment for every student.
Make pre-kindergarten education universally available.
Source: The Hyde Park Declaration 00-DLC2 on Aug 1, 2000
Rated 100% by the NEA, indicating pro-public education votes.
Stabenow scores 100% by the NEA on public education issues
The National Education Association has a long, proud history as the nation`s leading organization committed to advancing the cause of public education. Founded in 1857 `to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching and to promote the cause of popular education in the United States,` the NEA has remained constant in its commitment to its original mission as evidenced by the current mission statement:
To fulfill the promise of a democratic society, the National Education Association shall promote the cause of quality public education and advance the profession of education; expand the rights and further the interest of educational employees; and advocate human, civil, and economic rights for all.
In pursuing its mission, the NEA has determined that it will focus the energy and resources of its 2.7 million members toward the `promotion of public confidence in public education.`
The ratings are based on the votes the organization considered most important; the numbers reflect the percentage of time the representative voted the organization's preferred position.
Congressional Summary:Amends title IV (Student Assistance) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to extend the 3.4% interest rate on Federal Direct Stafford loans to loans first disbursed to undergraduate students between July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2015. Replaces the [termination date of] 2013 with 2015.
Proponent`s argument for bill:(US PIRG press release): The Student Loan Affordability Act keeps interest rates affordable for students over the next two years. If Congress fails to act by July 1, interest rates on federal Subsidized Stafford Loans will double from 3.4% to 6.8%. That would hike the cost of college by $1,000 per student, per loan, for over 7 million students across the country. The bill pays for extending the current interest rates through 2015 by closing three non-education tax loopholes.
Opponent`s argument against bill:(Rep. Tom Cotton, R-AR): Unfortunately, too many students today struggle for years to repay their loans because Washington politicians dictate student-loan rates and end up hurting students and taxpayers alike. It`s causing tuition costs to skyrocket, leaving students buried in debt, often without jobs, and forced to delay buying a home and starting a family. As students struggle to repay their loans--regardless of the interest rate--taxpayers are on the hook for a $100 billion bailout--a burden hard-working Arkansans shouldn`t have to bear. A better path is to let Arkansas`s hometown banks work with students and families to finance higher education, just as they do with homes, farms, businesses, and other loans. I`m committed to bringing affordable higher education to every Arkansan and ending the federal-government monopoly on the student-lending business.
Stabenow signed making two years of community college free
Excerpts from press release from Tammy Baldwin, Senate sponsor: The America`s College Promise Act makes two years of community college free by:
Providing a federal match of $3 for every $1 invested by the state to waive community college tuition and fees for eligible students;
Ensuring that programs offer academic credits which are fully transferable to four-year institutions in their state;
Establishing a new grant program to provide pathways to success at minority-serving institutions by helping them cover a significant portion of tuition and fees for the first two years of attendance for low-income students.
Community, technical, and tribal colleges enroll 40% of all college students today. Community colleges are uniquely positioned to partner with employers to create tailored training programs to meet economic needs within their communities such as nursing and advanced manufacturing.
Opposing argument: (Cato Institute, `College
Courtesy of the Taxpayer? No Thanks,` Jan. 9, 2015): One look at either community college outcomes or labor market outlooks reveals free college to be educational folly. Community college completion rates are atrocious: a mere 19.5% of community college students complete their programs. Meanwhile, the for-profit sector has an almost 63% completion rate. And [about 70%] of the new job categories in coming years will require a high school diploma or less.
Opposing argument: (Heritage Foundation, `Free Community College Is a Bad Deal`, July 15, 2016): Free college proposals would subject community colleges to the same types of subsidies-induced inflation endemic at four-year institutions. And low-income students already have access to federal Pell Grants, which can cover the bulk of community college tuition. By contrast, a more open market of alternative schooling models, such as online or vocational education programs, could better tailor degrees at a lower cost.
Source: America's College Promise Act 15-S1716 on Jul 8, 2015
Grant program to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in STEM fields. Congress finds the following:
STEM education at the undergraduate level is vital to developing a workforce that will allow the US to remain the leader in the 21st century global economy.
Women and minorities comprise over half of the US workforce but only make up 26% of STEM workers.
Approximately 52% of women and minorities in STEM fields quit their jobs about 10 years into their careers.
It is important for gender equality to increase the retention of women in STEM fields, as women in STEM careers earn 33% more than those in non-STEM jobs, and have a smaller wage gap relative to men.
The US should address the need to increase the number of individuals from underrepresented minority segments of the population who work in engineering.
Women and underrepresented minorities leave the STEM fields at higher rates than their counterparts, leading to a need to develop resources to retain these groups in the STEM fields.
An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use such grant funds to carry out one or more of the following activities designed to increase the participation of women or minorities underrepresented in science and engineering:
Online workshops.
2) Mentoring programs that partner STEM professionals with students.
Internships for undergraduate and graduate students in the STEM fields.
Conducting outreach programs that provide elementary school and secondary school students with opportunities to increase their exposure to STEM fields.
Programs to increase the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty.
Source: Women and Minorities in STEM Booster Act 16-S2710 on Mar 17, 2016