Degrees, Not Debt

Problem

There is over $1 trillion in outstanding student loan debt nationally, and approximately $7.2 billion in Nevada. Allowing so much outstanding debt to exist is a drag on economic growth, and it prevents people from investing in themselves. Student loan debt depletes savings and drags down credit, prevents young people from buying a first home, limits flexibility in career options and opportunities, and decreases consumer spending, which creates a ripple effect into the larger economy. Unsustainable levels of student loan debt will also ultimately limit risk taking, preventing the next wave of innovative entrepreneurs from starting businesses. If student loan debt continues to rise, we should expect fewer and fewer people to be able to participate fully in the economy. 

Solution

Aaron Ford proposes that the State of Nevada create the Student Loan Refinancing Program, a state lending program that gives Nevadans the opportunity to consolidate and refinance student loans. Easing the burden on students paying off their loans will spur growth that benefits everyone. Nevada is currently attempting to create a one-stop shop for Nevadans to consolidate loans into one payment and refinance at a lower interest rate. The proposal also includes educational components that are designed to help prevent students from making bad decisions regarding how much and when to borrow so they can be prepared before they begin taking on debt.

The Denver Education Compact

Problem

For too long, far too many of Denver’s children have grown up without a full opportunity to succeed, and in a city as resource rich as Denver that shouldn’t be the case. Incredible organizations and people have been tirelessly working to provide Denver’s youth the opportunities they deserve to access a high quality education. However this work was often done in silos. There were often competing interests and scattered strategies. This led to unnecessary overlap, limited financial resources, and not enough students getting the supports and services they deserved.

Solution

Mayor Michael Hancock helped coordinate the creation of “The Education Compact,” a citywide collaboration between 20+ key Denver institutions working to create a robust cradle-to-career continuum for Denver’s youth – where all students enter kindergarten prepared, graduate high school prepared, complete a postsecondary pathway and obtain a job. By having a diverse group of community leaders that represent Denver’s many neighborhoods, industries, and sectors housed under one organization means that resources can be brought to bear and deliberate collaboration can occur to increase educational attainment for all Denver students.

The City of West Sacramento Kids’ Home Run

Problem

Since its incorporation in 1987, West Sacramento has been a regional leader for infill housing and economic development. The city’s workforce development activities however, have yet to mature with the changing economic landscape. Once a blue collar city across the river from Sacramento, West Sacramento has developed tremendously in the past 28 years into a hub of research and development, advanced manufacturing, food processing, and logistics. The education system has yet to fully respond to the altered business environment, and the area has one of the highest unemployment rates in the region.

Solution

The Kids’ Home Run is an educational and jobs initiative that combines new and existing programs in the lives of children ages four to eighteen. The initiative supports improved alignment of the education system and workforce needs, providing classroom instruction and on the job training for entry level careers while ensuring high school youth enroll and complete community college, all through partnerships between the city, school district, community college, and local nonprofits.  The initiative is composed of four programs: Universal Preschool for every four year old, a guaranteed $50 college savings account for kindergartners, guaranteed internships for high school students and a college promise program for one year of fee free community college. Voters approved funding the initiative in November through a sales tax initiative, and our business community, school district and community college district have all come together to support it.

Whole Child Leon: Building Community Support for our Youngest Children

Problem

We know that 90% of brain development takes place before the age of 5, yet community support for families with young children is sporadic and fragmented. Although Leon County houses the Capitol of Florida, 2 major research universities and a community college, more than 25% of Leon County children live in poverty and a corresponding 25% enter Kindergarten without the language or basic skills to succeed. Leon County rates for infant mortality, premature births and low birth weight in Leon County are higher than in the state as a whole.

Solution

Whole Child Leon (WCL) is a community-wide initiative designed to address critical issues affecting our children by bringing together public, private and nonprofit partners, business leaders, elected officials, educators, health care providers, parents and caregivers to work together towards systemic change. WCL empowers these partners with data to better understand children’s needs and equip the entire community to measure progress, provide recommendations and to inform progress moving forward. Key initiatives include the PACT Early Childhood System of Care, a monthly Whole Child Leon Professional Network, an annual Maternal Child Health Community Conference, an ongoing Breastfeeding Policy Workgroup, bi-annual Early Childhood Developmental Screenings, ongoing Childhood Obesity Prevention Education and neighborhood equity work.

Make Head Start A Full Day Program

Problem

The average cost for quality Pre-K programming is $14,000 annually in Montgomery County, while a family of 2 at the federal poverty line makes $16,000. Head Start Pre-K programs are available for families up to 100% of the federal poverty line, but federal funding only provides a 2.5-hour half day program. A 2.5 hour program is just not enough to meet the children’s needs or the family needs. Our Title 1 schools leverage their dollars to create full day programs, but not all Head Start-eligible children attend a Title 1 school. There were 14 schools who did not have a full day program, leaving the students further behind their wealthy peers.

Solution

We expanded Head Start Pre-K for poor families from a 2.5 hour program to a 7 hour full day program to maximize the early care and education that our children and their families need to be more successful. The key innovation is for the local government to take ownership of expanding Head Start rather than relying on Federal and State funds, which will not come soon enough. Through a partnership with the Community Action Agency and the Public School System, we were able to come to identify sufficient school facilities and teachers, and an endless supply of energy from the implementation team for full day programming. The school system was able to generate the budget requirement for funding.

Equitable Funding for All Kids

Problem

Unfortunately, in Colorado and across the nation, students are prioritized differently based on the type of school they attend, not the needs of the student.

Solution

I wrote and passed landmark legislation to create transparency around how we fund our schools locally, and ensuring that students are not treated differently just because of the type of schools they attend. My legislation also gives school boards the flexibility they need to ensure that historically disadvantaged student populations can and should receive more funding, but that they should not be treated differently because of their choice of school.

Creating Empowerment School Zones

Problem

While Massachusetts consistently ranks first in education when compared to the rest of the country, there are still many schools and school districts that have fallen behind and are in need of improvement. As legislators, it is our job to find methods and models of education that provide standards and guidelines to our schools, teachers and administrators while also creating enough flexibility in schools and allowing educators to make necessary changes that will provide a better learning environment for our students.

Solution

My legislation would allow for statewide expansion of the Springfield Empowerment School Zone model – a partnership between the state, school officials and the teachers’ union in which select schools in a district operate autonomously, under control of an independent board of directors, gaining flexibility in the following areas: curriculum, budget, school schedule and calendar, staffing, professional development and school district policies and procedures. The Empowerment Zone model enabled eight middle schools in Springfield to build on current systems and preserve local talent, while simultaneously bringing in new talent and making improvements elsewhere. As Massachusetts determines the best path forward to improve struggling schools and close the achievement gap, the Empowerment Zone model has emerged as key strategy, hinging on school level autonomy and accountability, along with a focus on an explicit inclusion of local voices.

Early Childhood Suspension Ban

Problem

Currently, very young students in prekindergarten through second grade are placed in out-of-school suspension for minor, disruptive behavior. When they are removed from the classroom, they fall behind their peers. In the 2013-2014 school year, 33,753 Texas children in prekindergarten through second grade received out-of school suspensions. 2,513 of these suspensions were issued to pre-k students. Suspending young children has proven to be harmful and ineffective. Young children who are expelled or suspended from school are about ten times more likely to drop out of high school, face incarceration, and repeat grades. Additionally, African American children, boys, and students with special needs are suspended at disproportionately high rates.

Solution

My House Bill 674, now law in Texas, prohibits schools from placing students in prekindergarten through second grade in out-of-school suspension and encourages schools to use alternative discipline methods that keep students in school. This reduces the stigmatizing effects that sending students home for disruptive behavior, even at that young of an age, creates, which studies have shown last through the completion of elementary school, middle school, and beyond. Additionally, the new law encourages districts to utilize alternative discipline methods that focus on positive behavior strategies and keep kids in school.

ACCESS (Affordable College & Career Education Starts with Saving)

 

Problem

In many cities across the country, the zip code you’re born in is the most predictive factor in the health, wealth, and life outcomes you can expect. This uneven playing field can manifests in your ability to attend college and lifetime earnings. Lack of access to post-secondary training decreases the likelihood of attaining a good-paying job and supporting a family. Even after receive advanced training, the debt incurred may keep prosperity out of reach. Young people from lower-income families have an especially difficult time saving for college, because the financial status of the family may not lend itself to supporting their education. The price of admission reinforces the barriers that young people face in exiting poverty.

Solution

Columbus is piloting ACCESS, a program to address financial barriers that keep lower-income youth from achieving a post-secondary education. Through the Recreation and Parks Department’s Applications for Purpose, Pride, and Success (APPS) program, youth ages 14-24 receive a job along with leadership and professional development, financial education, and mentoring. Through the pilot eligible youth will also have access to an Individual Development Account (IDA) where up to $500 in savings will be matched 8:1 with a combination of City, private, and federal dollars, for a total of $4,500. Participants can use the funds for any eligible educational expense, including earning a certificate, to seek a four-year degree, or learn a trade.

Alabama School of Cyber Technology & Engineering

 

Problem

With so many technological advances, the needs of the workforce are constantly changing. It is imperative that our student’s education caters to those needs and students have the skills to thrive outside of the classroom. Many companies have to look outside of the state to fill high-level jobs in the field of engineering and cyber technology because that has not been the focus of the curriculum in Alabama. If we want to develop a workforce skilled at creating new technology with strong cyber networks that can’t be comprised, we must teach those skills and invest in the next generation of innovators from an early age.

Solution

Alabama will open a new technology- driven magnet school, the Alabama School of Cyber Technology & Engineering, for gifted students grade 7-12 from all across the state to develop a young workforce skilled at creating innovative technology with strong cyber networks that can’t be compromised. The school will also assist teachers, administrators, & superintendents across the state in replicating the curriculum in schools all across the state so that all students will develop the skills that are in high demand to be competitive in the current workforce.