The recommendations covered areas ranging from child care and universal preschool to college access and debt relief.
(Photo courtesy of Getty Images/Skynesher.)
Earlier this year, presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph Biden and his primary rival United States Senator Bernie Sanders announced six task forces meant to shore up Democratic Party unity ahead of November’s general election and influence specific policies put forth if elected. Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Courtney Sale Ross University Professor of Globalization and Education at NYU Steinhardt and Co-Director of NYU’s Global TIES for Children center, was invited to join the Education Unity Task Force and today, along with his fellow task force members, released a set of education policy recommendations.
“I am proud to stand with all Unity Task Force members to support a set of bold policy recommendations to reimagine public education in the United States,” said Yoshikawa. “Our recommendations build on Vice President Biden and Senator Sanders’ visions for the future of America and will help create a successful agenda for Democrats in 2020.”
The policy recommendations can be viewed on this page.
Yoshikawa and his colleagues on the education task force offered policy recommendations that they believe make the critical investments that America’s students and teachers need—to build equity and safeguard humanity in our educational system, to promote student well-being, and to guarantee every child, everywhere in our country, can receive a great education starting at birth and through adulthood. The task force’s recommendations – covering areas from child care, universal preschool, IDEA, Title I, community schools, school finance to racial equity, protecting transgender students’ rights, bilingual education, disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline, and college access and debt relief - are grounded in the members’ support for evidence-based programs and pedagogical approaches to prepare all students for college, career, and to be informed, engaged citizens.
“Education is critical to attacking the crises of our time - runaway income and wealth inequality, the worst global pandemic in a century, and the scourge of anti-Black racism. On this task force we came together in the belief that we must meet this moment by protecting our children, from birth to adulthood, to thrive and achieve their full human potential," continued Yoshikawa.
In addition to Yoshikawa, the education task force includes Alejandro Adler, Rep. Marcia Fudge (co-chair), Lily Eskelsen García, Heather Gautney (co-chair), Maggie Thompson, Christie Vilsack and Randi Weingarten. Supporting and collaborating with Yoshikawa on his recommendations were Steinhardt doctoral students Sophia Hwang, Andrew Nalani, Olga Pagan, Sarah Rosenbach and Alexander Watford.
