No Education Choice? Warren Vows to Eliminate Charter Schools if Elected

Elizabeth Warren’s new education plan focuses on public charter schools, putting her in a disagreement with students who don’t have a lot of options financially, other Democrats, and media as well. 

“We must stop the privatization for public schools. My administration will end federal funding for the expansion of charter schools, ban for-profit charter schools, and ensure existing charter schools are held to the same level of transparency and accountability as public school,” Warren said in a Twitter post, highlighting main points of her education plan, which would also lead to the Federal Charter School Program shutting down, a creation providing grants to new charters. 

Those opposed to school choice have been arguing for a long time that federal funding belongs at government schools, not charter schools, however many counter that argument with the one that charters are in fact the ones bringing innovation and offering low-income students a chance: 

“Safety, innovative curricula, and unique missions give public charter schools the opportunity to impact specific communities and tailor their programs to them. In fact, charter schools impact student achievement most among low-income and academically struggling students,”

-Jude Schwalbach of the Heritage Foundation. 

Democrats for Education Reform president Shavar Jeffries stated that Warren's education plan "hurts low-income kids. Period. It’s also out of touch with Dem voters who support expanded public school choice and the Obama education legacy.” Even the Washington Post rebutted the attacks towards charter schools by 2020 candidate Bernie Sanders in a report stating that "students of color, students from low-income families and English-language learners enrolled in public charter schools make greater academic progress than their peers in traditional schools."