Mike Pence was elected Vice President of the United States on November 9, 2016, alongside President-elect Donald Trump. Here are his views on education.
1. Charter schools: “We want to eliminate low income and location as barriers to receiving a quality education, and public charter schools are an essential element of achieving that objective.” July 2015.
2. Vouchers: “This is a school that has greatly benefited by our educational voucher program, opening doors of opportunity to kids that might not otherwise be able to enjoy the kind of education they have here. We've increased our investment in our traditional public schools, we've raised the foundation under our charter schools, and we've lifted the cap on our voucher program." (Said while visiting St. Charles Borromeo Catholic School.) May 2015.
3. School accountability: “We grade our children every week, and we can grade our schools every year, but those grades should fairly reflect the efforts of our students and teachers as we transition to higher standards and a new exam.” October 2015.
4. Indiana’s abandonment of the Common Core: “I believe when we reach the end of this process there are going to be many other states around the country that will take a hard look at the way Indiana has taken a step back, designed our own standards, and done it in a way where we drew on educators, we drew on citizens, we drew on parents, and developed standards that meet the needs of our people.” March 2014. (Note, however, that some have argued that Indiana’s replacement standards were more of a rebrand than an alteration.)
5. Teacher freedom: “I truly do believe that there is nothing that ails education in Indiana that cannot be fixed if we give our teachers more freedom to teach and if we give our parents more choices in public schools and for disadvantaged schools." April 2015.
6. Underperforming schools: “I believe, in my heart of hearts, that no child should have to remain in an underperforming school.” July 2015.
7. Parents’ role: “Children in this state ought to be afforded opportunities for quality education. Those decisions should be made in the best interests of our kids, and those decisions should be made by parents.” February 2015.
8. Pre-K grants: “These grants will offer more low-income students the chance to learn and grow in a high-quality pre-K program.” April 2015.
9. Career and technical education: “We have expanded choices for parents and children and worked to make career and vocational education a priority in every high school in our state.” June 2015.
10. Continuing adult education: “We want to improve the quality of our workforce, and help put Hoosiers on a path to even greater success. To achieve this goal, it is imperative that we look beyond our K-12 pipeline. Our ‘You Can. Go Back.’ campaign will encourage a continuing education that helps working Hoosiers meet the qualifications of the fastest growing, high-wage jobs that will provide opportunity and improve lives." February 2016.
