Education Week - July 20, 2016 - 25

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Candidates Other Than Clinton
And Trump: Where Do They Stand?
| POLITICS K-12 | You may be looking at the presumptive
presidential nominees of the two major parties, Democrat
Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, and
saying to yourself: "No, thanks." So how do candidates
from other parties stack up when it comes to their
positions and records on education?
Here are some answers for several notable presidential
hopefuls from other corners of the political landscape:
* Gary Johnson: Libertarian Party
The party's nominee makes clear on his official
campaign website that he "believes there is no role
for the federal government in education" and would
eliminate the U.S. Department of Education "and
return control to the state and local levels." Johnson, a
former Republican governor of New Mexico, also notes
his opposition to the Common Core State Standards
because he doesn't want to "impose national standards
and requirements on local schools." (The common core
was developed by states, although Washington has
offered incentives in the past for its adoption.) And
Johnson wants more education flexibility at the state and
local levels.
Meanwhile, the Libertarian Party's vice presidential
nominee, William Weld, might be familiar to readers from
his time as Republican governor of Massachusetts. In
education policy, Weld might be most famous for signing
the Massachusetts Education Reform Act in 1993. The
law had a significant impact on the state's approach
to standards, testing, accountability, K-12 finance, and
more.
* Jill Stein: Green Party
The party's choice for the presidency in 2012, Stein,
a physician, is its presumptive nominee this year, but
hasn't officially sewn up the nomination. On Stein's

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website, her K-12 platform is straightforward: "End
high-stakes testing and public school privatization."
Her opposition to such testing was also part of her 2012
platform. Four years ago, Stein also opposed using merit
pay "to punish teachers." As in 2012, Stein wants to get
rid of student debt and make college tuition-free.
* Darrell Castle: Constitution Party
Castle, a lawyer, is the nominee of a party that strongly
opposes the common core and such federally supported
programs as Race to the Top, and favors elimination
of the U.S. Department of Education, according to its
website. It also supports rights of parents to educate
their children and "free-market principles of improving
education through nontraditional options such as
internet-based schools, charter schools, religious, and
private schools, as well as home-based schooling."
* Tom Hoefling: American Independent Party
The name of Hoefling's party, of which he is the
nominee, has caused some confusion among some
voters who believe they are registering as independent,
nonaffiliated voters. The issues section of Hoefling's
website doesn't have anything devoted specifically to
education. However, elsewhere on his website, Hoefling,
who ran unsuccessfully for Iowa governor in 2014, notes
his opposition to the Common Core State Standards. In
his 2012 presidential run, the candidate said the federal
government has no role in education except for the
children of those in the military.
* Emidio "Mimi" Soltysik: Socialist Party USA
Soltysik, the party's nominee for president, lists
its education platform on his website. That platform
includes opposition to merit pay for teachers,
standardized testing, competition between schools within
the same district, the sale of on-campus advertising
to raise money, and "the increasing dependence of
postsecondary institutions on corporate funding." It also
calls for class-size limits of 15 students per teacher at
the K-12 level and "student, parent, and teacher control

of curriculum formation, and in the hiring and dismissal
procedures of school personnel, through the formation of
local school/community committees."
-ANDREW UJIFUSA

Hillary Clinton Assures the NEA
She'd Be a 'Partner' in White House
| TEACHER BEAT | Hillary Clinton, the presumptive
Democratic presidential nominee, told the National
Education Association at its recent annual convention
in Washington that, if elected, she would be educators'
"partner in the White House," invest in teacher training
and wraparound services, and have their back when
"union-busting governors" or "hostile legislatures" try to
take away their collective-bargaining rights.
Clinton, in her July 5 speech, thanked the 3 millionmember NEA, for sticking by her in the fierce primary
against Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. She promised to
return the favor by making sure that teachers-some of
whom were blindsided by Obama administration K-12 initiatives, especially around tying teacher evaluations to test
scores-will always be part of the policymaking process.
"I have this old-fashioned idea that when we are making
decisions about education, we actually should listen to our
educators," she said.
Clinton, who was criticized early in the campaign for
anti-charter school rhetoric, only mentioned charters once
in the roughly 30-minute speech, in what brought audible
jeers. She said she wants educators to be able to learn
from the best schools, whether they are traditional public
or charter.
Clinton, for the most part, received a very enthusiastic
reception from the crowd of about 6,900 delegates. "It was
clear that she understands the problems and challenges
that the profession, and our students, are facing," said
Shaun Creighton, an Arizona delegate. 

-STEPHEN SAWCHUK

Making Project-Based
Learning Work
In this webinar, we'll be joined by John
Larmer, editor-in-chief at the Buck
Institute for Education, and two expert
project-based learning practitioners to
discuss the "gold standard" project-based
learning elements and the challenges and
possibilities inherent in this approach.
free webinar
wEdnESday, JuLy 20, 2016
2 to 3 p.m. Et
www.edweek.org/go/webinar/
GoldStandard

guests
*	 andrE dauGhty, Buck Institute for Education
national faculty and educational technology
instructor in oklahoma City public Schools
*	 ErIC wyCoff, Buck Institute for Education
national faculty and social studies teacher,
El molino high School, forestville, Calif.
*	 John LarmEr, editor-in-chief, Buck Institute
for Education, and co-developer of the "gold
standard project-based learning" guidelines
moderator
*	 JaCLyn ZuBryZCkI, contributing
writer, Education Week

Sponsored by

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Education Week - July 20, 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Education Week - July 20, 2016
