Why America’s Schools Are Getting More Political
Democrats see education as primarily an economic issue, while Republicans view it through a cultural lens.
What’s their reason for being there?
Photographer: Don Bartletti/Los Angeles TimesIn US politics, domestic issues tend to fall into one of two categories: economic or cultural. But it’s getting harder these days to decide where education belongs. That’s because Democrats and Republicans are talking about the issue differently — and their rhetorical dissimilarity shows how each party has adopted its own view of class conflict.
For most Democrats, education has always been largely about dollars and cents. The party’s current policy proposals emphasize increased government funding to improve public schools’ facilities and resources, expand pre-K programs and increase college affordability. President Joe Biden’s plan to forgive certain federal student loan debts, announced shortly before the 2022 midterms but now facing multiple legal challenges, represents a benefit directed toward a specific population — current students and younger graduates — that Democratic leaders view as an important constituency motivated by material self-interest.