~ Video of the full forum can be found here and photos can be found here ~
~ Video of Senator Hirono’s opening remarks can be found here ~
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) held a spotlight forum titled, “Scamming Our Schools: Robbing Our Students’ Futures to Line Their Pockets,” focused on the harmful consequences of Republicans’ “Big Beautiful Bill” for public school students across the country. During the forum, Senator Hirono and her Democratic colleagues heard from a panel of witnesses comprised of K-12 education and civil rights experts, school leaders, researchers, advocates, teachers, and parents.
“The vast majority of our kids go to public schools, but we have a regime that wants to end federal support for public schools by getting rid of the Department of Education,” said Senator Hirono. “They have already cut staff by 50 percent, now they’ve come with a way to subsidize private schools to the tune of $4 billion per year in tax credits.”
“Everyone should be aware—Republicans are creating the first-ever national school voucher program that will be funded through a new federal tax credit for individuals and corporations who support private schools. This program will hurt underserved students, including those in rural communities. It will hurt students with disabilities and it will hurt their families,” she continued. “And as Republicans continue their attacks on our public schools and educators, Democrats are fighting to ensure that every child in this country can receive a quality, public education.”
The House-passed tax bill contains school voucher-related provisions that would provide billions of dollars in taxpayer funding to impose the first ever national school voucher program on states while creating tax breaks for wealthy individuals. Individual states with school voucher programs have already seen deep cuts to essential programs, and the “Big Beautiful Bill” would further exacerbate these consequences by diverting crucial resources that could otherwise be used for public schools to wealthier families and private schools.
Senator Hirono was also joined by a number of her colleagues, including Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Maggie Hassan (D-NH).
“After praising the President’s executive order to dismantle the Department of Education and calling for education to be sent back to the states, congressional Republicans are further deteriorating our public education system by stuffing tax incentives for a national school voucher program into their big, ugly bill,” said Durbin. “Not only is this the opposite of sending education back to the states, but it is a giveaway to wealthy families already enrolled in private schools at the expense of our youngest Illinoisans who rely on public education.”
“Every child deserves access to a quality education. But instead of working to achieve that goal, Republicans are attacking public schools that serve all students. We will keep fighting to defeat Republicans’ backward plan and work to strengthen our public schools so they can live up to their promise: providing equal access to high-quality education for every student, no matter their zip code,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“Like so many other current or former public school parents across Virginia, I know that public schools are the cornerstone of opportunity in the United States,” said Kaine. “Trump and congressional Republicans’ budget bill would rip critical funding away from those schools and hurt our students—especially students with disabilities, rural students, and lower-income students. We must work to strengthen our public schools, which serve nearly 90 percent of all K-12 students, rather than divert funds to a system that benefits a select few.”
“A quality education is one of the very best investments we can make for our children. Congressional Republicans’ Big Beautiful Betrayal will weaken our public schools and threaten students’ ability to learn, especially in rural areas where private schools simply aren’t an option. We should be investing in our nation’s future, not giving tax breaks to the wealthy on the backs of the next generation,” said Senator Klobuchar.
The forum featured testimony from:
“We have a lot of work to do to ensure that all students, regardless of their lot in life, enjoy the lifelong benefits of outstanding teachers, high-quality curriculum, and nurturing school environments,” said Dr. Jon Valant, Director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. “The reality, however, is that policies hostile to public schools are unlikely to achieve these outcomes—and risk leaving us with a more stratified, less efficient education system than the one we have today.”
“The Arc is concerned that private schools can deny enrollment to students with disabilities simply because they have disabilities,” said Katy Neas, Chief Executive Officer, The Arc of the United States. “The Arc urges Congress to oppose any education policy that excludes any child.”
“As a public school superintendent, I believe every educator has the duty to advocate for a system that best meets the needs of each and every student. America's public schools educate all students, in every community regardless of their ability, background, or income level,” said Dr. Justin Henry, Superintendent of Goddard Public Schools. “The Educational Choice for Children Act threatens our essential mission by redirecting much-needed public funds to private schools, benefiting only a small number of students and offering no real reforms. We cannot afford to fund a secondary education system that gets to pick who and how it educates. I appreciate Senator Hirono's leadership on this issue and the opportunity to testify in today's forum.”
“Vouchers take resources away from the 90 percent of students who attend public schools for unaccountable and discriminatory private schools. Parents and educators know that our students need more support and smaller class sizes, which is why voters have rejected vouchers every time they have been on the ballot, including last year in my home state of Nebraska,” said Paul Schulte, a public school teacher and Vice President of the Nebraska State Education Association. “As a registered Republican voter, I am proud to be here today standing up for our students and public schools and against the school voucher scheme some in Congress want to force on us as they slash funding for public education.”
“I hope that Congress will invest in our public schools, which gives all students what they need to succeed, and reject efforts like the voucher tax scheme in the reconciliation bill that will undermine public education,” said Alexis Underwood, an instructor for the Bay County School District and President of the Association of Bay County Educators. “Our children deserve the best we, as a society, can give them. They deserve better than this.”
Video of the full forum can be found here and photos can be found here.
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