Make education available at every stage of life, including specialized and vocational training
Knowledge is power. Education should be a pathway to opportunity, not a sentence to lifelong debt. Yet millions of Americans are shackled to insurmountable student loans that stifle their dreams, delay young people from building families, and drain the economy of capital. Generations of Americans should not be punished for seeking knowledge when institutions are the ones responsible for jacking up tuition rates in the first place.
An educated nation is a prosperous one. A nation that burdens its scholars burdens its future. Wall Street was bailed out. Corporations receive tax breaks. But students, who invested in their future, are left to struggle. The government should serve its people, not profit from their ambition.
With this in mind, Project 2029’s platform calls for substantial debt relief for student borrowers, pushes for tuition-free public colleges, and seeks to enable people to buy homes, start businesses, and contribute fully to society.
We must similarly overhaul the education that our children receive. For far too long, America has lagged globally in early childhood education, and American children have suffered as a result, often reading and writing at lower levels than their global counterparts throughout elementary, middle, and high school. While other nations often prioritize providing their students with trade and technical education offerings, thus fast-tracking their students into well-paying industries, access to vocational education varies greatly for Americans across different regions.
Politicians have spent far too much time and energy attempting to ban books they disagree with, inject political ideology and religious theology into classrooms in violation of the First Amendment, and prevent critical discussion of important historical and culturally contemporary topics. Attempting to sanitize American history does not change it; it merely results in a generation of Americans ignorant of the past and unequipped for the future.
Project 2029 supports policies that will create legal protections to prevent retaliation against teachers for doing their jobs, while also providing opportunities for parents to engage in their child’s education. We believe in the importance of taking an interdisciplinary approach to instilling the democratic values of equality, human dignity, justice, individual liberty, civic participation, accountability, tolerance, and inclusion throughout each child’s education. We also believe in the federal government’s role in supporting educational initiatives at every level, and reinforcing the separation of Church and State that our Founders held dear. Our platform calls for:
Establishing a National Initiative for Democratic Renewal and Civic Reconnection. To strengthen the civic foundations of the next generation and counter the long-term effects of polarization and democratic backsliding, the Department of Education must issue a formal directive encouraging states and districts to embed democratic history, knowledge, practices, and skills throughout the K–12 experience. This initiative shall establish a national framework for “Democratic Learning Standards,” developed in coordination with state education agencies, civic educators, and nonpartisan academic partners, to guide curriculum design, instructional practice, and school culture. To drive adoption, the Department of Education shall, where possible, condition eligibility for selected federal education funding streams, including Title I administrative grants, Impact Aid supplements, and competitive innovation grants, on a state’s demonstrated progress toward integrating these standards.
Leveraging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to advocate for student loan borrower protection. During previous administrations, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's private education loan ombudsman has made the office a listening post for legal services groups, consumer advocates, and students. Through forums with stakeholders and the establishment of a complaint database from student loan borrowers' perspectives, the office has previously prepared comprehensive reports on the student loan market that have driven policy change. The CFPB has also previously assisted the Education Department on a simplified “financial aid shopping sheet” to help students easily compare information across colleges and universities, supervised private student lenders, and set up a student loan repayment assistant to help borrowers understand their options.
Rescinding Executive Order 14242, which aims to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. By shifting all authority over education to the states, the order risks deepening educational inequality, as state-level funding and priorities vary widely and may not sufficiently support low-income districts, students with disabilities, or English language learners. The Department of Education enforces civil rights protections, administers Pell Grants and federal loans, and upholds national standards that safeguard students across the country. Attempting to destroy the department undermines the essential role it plays in protecting students’ rights, providing reliable data, and ensuring that every child, no matter their zip code, has a fair shot at a quality education.
Rescinding Executive Order 14235, which politicizes the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program by selectively redefining “public service” to exclude employees the current administration deems ideologically or politically objectionable. By framing entire categories of non-profit work, such as organizations that support immigrant rights, provide gender-affirming care, or engage in public demonstrations, as potentially “illegal” or dangerous, the order weaponizes student loan policy to punish certain viewpoints and restrict access to loan forgiveness for individuals who serve marginalized communities. This directive undermines the original intent of the PSLF program, which is to encourage public-minded work regardless of political affiliation, and chills civic engagement by threatening financial penalties for working at advocacy organizations.
Rescinding Executive Order 14190, which initiates sweeping action against so-called “anti-American ideologies” being taught in public schools, including the teaching of critical race theory, gender identity issues, and discussions around privilege. The order calls for a detailed federal strategy to identify and potentially cut off federal funding to schools, agencies, and programs that promote what it terms “discriminatory equity ideology” or “gender ideology,” and reestablishes the 1776 Commission to promote “patriotic education” that sanitizes American history in a favorable light. Our students deserve an honest education that considers all perspectives, not ideologically engineered propaganda aimed only at reinforcing a singular worldview.
Rescinding Executive Order 14253, which imposes a narrow, ideologically driven narrative of American history by weaponizing federal oversight to suppress honest, evidence-based scholarship about the nation’s past. Under the guise of combating “revisionism,” it effectively calls for the erasure of uncomfortable truths, such as the legacy of slavery, racism, sexism, and systemic inequality, that are critical to understanding how the United States has evolved. By labeling museum exhibits that address racial injustice or challenge traditional power structures as “divisive” or “improper ideology,” the order undermines academic freedom and the autonomy of trusted cultural institutions like the Smithsonian.
Rescinding Executive Order 14191, which instructs agency heads to explore mechanisms that would allow federal funds to be used by qualifying families to access not only private and charter schools, but explicitly faith-based schools. This directive raises serious concerns about the erosion of the constitutional principle of separation of Church and State. By directing public money toward religious institutions, the order blurs the line between government and organized religion, potentially compelling taxpayers to fund religious education that may conflict with their own beliefs or values. This shift undermines the neutrality the government is supposed to maintain in religious matters and risks setting a precedent where religious doctrine is effectively subsidized by federal dollars
Establishing a National Commission on School District Consolidation and Shared Services under the Department of Education, with a mandate to study optimal school district consolidation models to conserve resources and reduce fiscal waste, prioritizing districts serving fewer than 500 students. To drive adoption, the Department of Education shall, where possible, condition eligibility for selected federal education funding streams, including Title I administrative grants, Impact Aid supplements, and competitive innovation grants, on a state’s demonstrated progress toward district consolidation where necessary. Where the federal government directly administers schooling, the Secretary shall develop and implement a consolidation and shared services plan.
Restoring the functions of Executive Orders 14050, 14045, 14124, and 14049, to confront long-standing educational and economic inequities facing Black, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American communities. Doing so will revive the advisory bodies, data systems, and cross-agency partnerships needed to strengthen HBCUs, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges and Universities, expand opportunity, and ensure these students have a fair shot at success.
