How Harris and Trump differ on education

The topic of education has been mostly absent from this year's presidential campaigns. But the future of American schools and universities could hinge on the choice between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.

There are "very sharp differences" between the two candidates when it comes to education, Amna Nawaz said on PBS NewsHour. America faces "this drop in the ability of fourth graders and eighth graders to do basic math and to read at a grade level," said her colleague William Brangham. Trump's ideas are "contradictory," Brangham added — he wants to eliminate the Department of Education, but also pay "very granular attention" to school curricula to snuff out so-called "woke" topics like critical race theory and gender issues. Harris and Democrats, meanwhile, have called for universal free preschool for American kids.

The two candidates have "distinct track records," American University's Robert Shand said at The Conversation. Trump's platform calls for "universal school choice and more parental control over schools," while Harris served in a Biden administration that tried to expand funding for "full-service community schools" that work to address non-classroom factors, "such as access to health care and healthy food," that can affect student performance. Succinctly, Shand said, Harris wants a "broader role" for the federal government, while Trump wants to push much of the issue to "states, localities and parents."

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Trump: 'Chopping block' for federal ed programs?

Trump tried — and failed — to "tear down the U.S. Department of Education" during his first term in office, said Education Week. Expect a new attempt if he gets a second term. "I think he's going to come into office full steam ahead and get things done," said Ryan Walters, Oklahoma's conservative superintendent of education. But the former president has "never been specific" about the fate of programs — like Title I funding for low-income schools — the department administers. As in his first term, it's likely Trump would attempt to put federal K-12 funding on "the chopping block," Education Week said.

While K-12 programs get the most attention, "by far the Department of Education's biggest expenditure is on higher education," said The New York Times. The bulk of its $224 million budget goes to the federal student aid program. Disbanding the agency would have to go through Congress, which is a "highly unlikely proposition," said the Times. That doesn't mean a shift is impossible. Derrell Bradford — the president of 50CAN, a pro-school-choice nonprofit outfit — said both Democrats and Republicans like "the idea that local entities should be in control of education at the local level."

Harris: A focus on pre-K education

Harris and her allies have talked about pre-K federal policies "as much, if not more" than K-12 policies, said NPR. In addition to universal preschool, Democrats have also proposed expanding the Child Tax Credit to give a boost to families with young learners. For older students, Harris supported the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness efforts, as well as proposals to make community college free to students. During her first presidential bid in 2019, Harris also proposed boosting teacher pay. "God knows we don't pay you enough," she said to teachers union members.

Harris' most notable statement on education might have been her selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a former teacher, as her running mate. As governor he signed an anti-book-banning bill to stop school and university libraries from removing a book "based solely on its viewpoint or the messages, ideas, or opinions it conveys," said School Library Journal. "Public education," Walz said at the signing, is a force for good in this country."