Issue Position: A World-class Education for Every Child

Issue Position

A product of Michigan public schools, Dan Scripps knows how a quality education can unlock doors to opportunity. His service as a college trustee and Board member for a nationally recognized early childhood center give him a unique perspective on the value of education from pre-school to an affordable college degree.

In the Legislature, Dan was a champion for local schools, voting against every single cut to education while supporting strong standards and common sense reforms. He founded the bipartisan School Equity Caucus, working to narrow the funding gap between local schools and those in other parts of the state. And he co-chaired the bipartisan, bicameral Children's Caucus, highlighting the impact and return on investment of quality early childhood education programs.

As our Representative, Dan will partner with local educators and others to improve the quality of Michigan's schools. It's unacceptable that Michigan is now in the bottom 25% of states for student achievement. Instead of denigrating and demeaning local teachers, Dan will work collaboratively with educators and parents to expand opportunities for our kids.

Preserve and strengthen public education

Dan strongly supports the Michigan Department of Education's goal of making Michigan a Top 10 state for public education over the next 10 years, as well as the goal of moving Michigan into the Top 10 best educated states. As our Representative, Dan will again lead the fight for equity in school funding so local kids have the same opportunities as those from wealthy downstate districts. And Dan will engage educators as professionals, and end the constant assault on the teachers who are preparing our children for the world ahead.

Expand early learning opportunities

Dan has long been a strong advocate for expanding early learning opportunities for Michigan kids. Early childhood education has a proven ability to improve peoples' lives -- or as Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said, "the first five years have so much to do with how the next 80 turn out."

Dan will work to expand early childhood education for all Michigan children, expanding funding for quality preschool programs and coordinating the many programs touching on early childhood services to increase their impact and eliminate duplicative, confusing and often contradictory eligibility criteria to ensure that we're maximizing our public investment through a coordinated, child-focused approach.

Michigan has seen progress in recent years toward improving the state of early childhood education, thanks in part to bipartisan leadership, the strong support of Governor Snyder, and support from a broad range of educational, business, and community leaders. Dan will build on this momentum to ensure that quality early learning opportunities and family supports are available for every single Michigan child.

Expand access to higher education

To succeed in the global knowledge economy, we need to increase the number of people with access to an affordable college degree or other post-secondary opportunities. And we need to address the crisis of student debt that limits the options for too many local graduates.

Dan will work to restore the Promise Scholarship that helped cover the first two years of college for Michigan high school graduates. Dan voted against the elimination of the Promise Scholarship while in the Legislature, and will lead the fight to restore it.

Dan will also seek partnerships with the business community to develop a long-term fix for Michigan university funding. In particular, Business Leaders for Michigan, an organization of senior executives from Michigan's largest companies and universities, has listed making Michigan a Top Ten state for college affordability as one of its goals in its Michigan Turnaround Plan, and Dan will work with these business leaders and others to achieve that goal.

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