Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump have very different views on education. Harris wants the federal government to play a bigger role in education. Trump thinks states, local governments, and parents should have more control over schools.
When Harris was the Attorney General of California, she helped students get refunds from schools that misled them. She has supported forgiving student debt and giving more money to community colleges and historically Black colleges and universities. Trump signed a law to provide permanent funding for historically Black colleges and universities.
He also made it easier for online, religious, and for-profit schools to get accredited.
Contrasting educational approaches
Trump proposed big changes to K-12 education, like using vouchers or tax credits to help parents pay for private school tuition.
Harris thinks public schools should get more money to help with things like healthcare and nutrition, not just academics. When she ran for president in 2019, she wanted the federal government to help raise teacher salaries and make class sizes smaller. Neither candidate has done a lot specifically for early childhood education.
But Trump’s Project 2025 suggested a federally funded, locally run program for low-income families. Harris has supported pre-kindergarten for all 4-year-olds, but it hasn’t happened on a large scale yet. The two candidates have very different approaches to education.
These differences show the big divides in American politics.
