Education — Where’s the Debate?

This election season, we’re hearing a lot of debate about immigration, but not education. We’re hearing about scandals, but not schools. We’re hearing about handguns and hairstyles, taxes and tea parties, Syria and Saturday Night Live.

But when it comes to education, there’s been a deafening silence.

I’m not just talking anecdotally here. Communities In Schools recently partnered with Public Opinion Strategies to conduct the first poll of this election cycle focused on education issues. In eight key swing states — Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Iowa, New Hampshire, Colorado, Nevada and North Carolina — we asked 1,200 likely voters about the issues that mattered to them and how the candidates were doing in addressing those issues.

On questions of party preference and presidential candidates, the electorate is closely divided, as you would expect given recent political trends. But on one major point, our poll results were unambiguous: Voters aren’t getting the kind of leadership they want on K-12 education. People care deeply about improving public schools, but our politicians, it seems, would rather talk about literally anything else.

More than two out of three respondents said that K-12 education ranks among their top policy concerns, beating out controversial issues such as immigration, Social Security and Obamacare. But only about one in three voters could remember hearing any of the presidential candidates talk about public education on the campaign trail. In fact, the issue ranked dead last in terms of the attention it’s receiving from the candidates.

Politicians are known for avoiding controversial topics in an election year, but that doesn’t explain the deafening silence on education. In fact, despite the bitter differences that divide the electorate on so many issues, our poll found remarkable agreement when it comes to public education:

· By a 2-to-1 margin, voters agree that the poverty level of students is a barrier to learning.

· By a 3-to-1 margin, voters said it was a top priority to ensure that all the kids in their community — regardless of economic background — had equal access to a quality education. Those high margins held up among Republicans (67%), Independents (77%) and Democrats (84%) alike.

It’s mind-boggling to me that public education might be the one national issue with broad consensus and high importance across party lines, yet it’s the one that no one wants to talk about.

I don’t think we have to accept that situation. During primary season, the candidates are remarkably accessible, particularly if you live in a state that votes early. At state fairs, town halls and VFW posts, you can get up close and personal with the person who might one day sit in the Oval Office. So for a few months, at least, American politics are more like a conversation than a lecture — and a good conversation usually starts with a good question.

If you care about education, I hope you’ll make an effort to get out and ask the candidates some specific questions about where they stand on improving our public schools. Here are a few “conversation starters” I can think of off the top of my head:

· In your first budget, what funding level would you propose for the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA)?

· What are you plans to support the now 51% of students on free and reduce priced meals?

· How do you plan to close the class and racial achievement gap in public education?

If you can think of more questions for the candidates, I hope you’ll weigh in with a comment below. And if you’ve actually had a chance to ask your question of any candidate, by all means, please share their reply.

It’s high time that we got this conversation started.