K-12 education mostly absent from the 2016 presidential campaign

“I respect teachers and educators – and I want to give them the support they need to do the job we ask.” – Hillary Clinton

“I’m a tremendous believer in education.” – Donald Trump

And that about sums up the depth of the discussion of K-12 education in the 2016 presidential campaign among the major party candidates (sorry, Gary Johnson and Jill Stein).  From the party primaries through today, relative to other issues, there has been little attention given in speeches, party platforms, and debates to matters related to public schools.

Yesterday, NPR’s education team did a nice job of detailing both Clinton and Trump’s positions on education from the current campaign.  Actually “detailing” might be too strong a word because, well, that would suggest there are details.  Clinton has put forward proposals that essentially call for more funding for early childhood programs, but where those funds will come from is much less clear.  And Trump has put out a campaign ad about education that gives even less of substance.

With rhetoric about K-12 education being critical to “a healthy and informed democracy” and “making America competitive in a global economy”, the dearth of ideas about education from these two candidates is somewhat surprising.  Or maybe it isn’t.  The era of “No Child Left Behind” and Common Core has done quite a bit to anger both ends of the political spectrum, from teachers unions to Tea Party conservatives.  Clinton and Trump probably see wading into K-12 education as a minefield, and, therefore, avoid saying much at all.

With tonight’s first presidential debate, maybe we’ll see more of a focus on public schools.  If we do, we can only hope Clinton and Trump will offer more than vague platitudes.