State of the Union Address Includes Marginal Mention of Education
This Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress.
While the President spoke extensively on the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the crisis in Ukraine, and COVID-19 recovery, his thoughts on education comprised only a few points. Speaking broadly, he addressed the need to increase Pell Grants, support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s), and community colleges, as well as the need for universal Pre-K for 3 and 4-year-olds—but failed to include the steps he intended to take to fulfill these goals. He also spoke on increasing mental health and behavioral health services for students and reinforced his support for transgender young people via the Equality Act.
When discussing his administration’s response to COVID-19 recovery, the President applauded Congress’ passage of the American Rescue Plan Act and other pieces of legislation that offered relief to schools. He encouraged parents to hold schools accountable for the use of their COVID-19 relief funds, noting that “the American Rescue Plan gave schools money to hire teachers and help students make up for lost learning. I urge every parent to make sure your school does just that. They have the money.”
CEC has been urging states and districts to prioritize stimulus funding for school personnel, a priority which the U.S. Department of Education has begun promoting explicitly.