Wide variance in funding for and access to education – from preschool through college – in the United States perpetuates inequities across other systems. These inequities are seeded even before children enter school, due to disparities in parental leave policies and childcare options, especially for low- and middle-income families.
High-quality universal pre-kindergarten (UPK) programs can benefit children throughout their lives and help identify learning and behavioral challenges earlier, so children can get the support they need sooner.
Higher education remains an important pathway to economic mobility, but student debt can weaken its wealth-building effects and deepen racial wealth inequality. Policy approaches such as targeted debt relief, lower-cost pathways to degree completion, and stronger need-based aid can help ensure higher education functions as a mobility tool.
Education funding matters for those teaching our children, too. People in the early care and education workforce earn low wages and experience poor mental well-being and high rates of food insecurity. A healthy early childhood education workforce is vital to the delivery of quality childcare.
While the general public supports better funding for early childhood education, elected officials are divided along party lines in their willingness to increase resource allocation. The type of information that is effective in garnering public support is not as convincing for policymakers, suggesting there may be a disconnect between the rationale and values of the electorate and the elected.
A combination of policy approaches and public will-building can increase funding for education cradle through career, improving health outcomes along the way.
Topic: Education