Rep. Suzanne Bonamici on Student Survival Mode Amidst School Shootings and ICE Raids

Underfunding Public Education

• 📉 Public education in the U.S. has been chronically underfunded for decades, leading to suffering for too many students.
• federal government plays a crucial role in closing opportunity gaps, but the Trump administration threatened to dismantle the Department of Education, which would be a significant loss of potential.

Critiques of Voucher Schemes

• 💸 Vouchers are presented as a solution by Republicans, but they divert much-needed funding from public schools to subsidize private school tuition for wealthy families.
• 📊 Evidence suggests vouchers do not improve academic outcomes and can leave students in poor and rural areas with fewer resources.
• 📉 Reports from Louisiana show voucher students performing worse on state tests than their public school peers.
• ⚠️ Florida and Arizona, which heavily utilize public funds for private school choice, have fallen below the national average in 8th-grade math and reading scores.
• 📚 A comprehensive review of state voucher laws concluded that they have failed students and families, draining public school funding and exacerbating inequities.

Broader Challenges in Education

• 🤖 The proliferation of artificial intelligence in schools and the workforce necessitates instilling creative critical thinking skills.
• 🎨 Bipartisan support for arts education is highlighted as a way to improve academic achievement and keep students in school.
• 🧠 A significant mental health crisis exists in schools, with a substantial percentage of adolescents suffering from depression and suicidal ideation.

Impact of Fear on Learning

• 🏫 Students experiencing school shootings are in survival mode and cannot focus on academics.
• 😟 Students living in fear of ICE raids also struggle to concentrate on learning.
• 🏗️ There is a need to fix crumbling school buildings to ensure all children can learn in an environment that reinforces a bright future.