CAP’s Education Department aims to change America’s approach to early childhood, K-12 education, higher education, and lifelong learning by ensuring equitable access to resources, developing community-centered policies, and promoting the ability to participate fully in an inclusive economy built on a strong democracy.
Students walk to their classrooms at a public middle school in Los Angeles, California, September 10, 2021. (Getty/Robyn Beck/AFP)
CAP has identified a series of proposals, including a grant program that would increase recruitment and retention of highly qualified educators in schools with the highest teacher turnover, helping ensure equitable access to great teaching in school districts across the country.
Provide access to quality, affordable child care
CAP has helped shape key child care and preschool policy proposals, many of which are included in the Biden administration’s Build Back Better agenda, and furthered the understanding of child care research, including cost of care, child care deserts, family spending, and workforce participation.
How To Improve Employment Outcomes for Young Adults Leaving Incarceration
Young adults reentering communities after incarceration face many barriers to finding stable work, but forward-thinking policies can lead to better employment outcomes and safer communities.
States Can Improve Child Care Assistance Programs Through Cost Modeling
The current process states use for setting child care subsidy reimbursement rates only looks backward, building low wages and scarce resources into the future of child care.
CAP’s Comment on the Request for Information Regarding Public Transparency on the Low-Financial-Value Postsecondary Programs List
In a comment letter submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Madison Weiss provides recommendations on the low-financial-value postsecondary programs list.
CAP’s Comment on the Income-Driven Repayment Regulation
In a comment letter submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, Bradley D. Custer discusses income-driven repayment regulation and the need for a student loan repayment system with a functional safety net.
Top 5 Actions Governors Can Take To Address the Child Care Shortage
Governors must take the lead in instituting policies that fairly compensate early childhood providers for the skilled work they perform, incentivize the creation of programs in child care deserts, and relieve families of the high cost of care.
At Navajo Technical University, a World-Class Laboratory Is Building Native American Manufacturing Capacity
In the third and final installment in a series on Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), the Center for American Progress and American Indian College Fund examine how a Tribal university in New Mexico is creating engineering and advanced manufacturing career opportunities on the rural Navajo Nation.
A Minnesota Tribal College Teaches Law Enforcement in Effort To Put More Native Americans ‘Behind the Badge’
In the second installment in a three-part series on Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), the Center for American Progress and American Indian College Fund look at Leech Lake Tribal College’s law enforcement degree program and the college’s work on cultural revitalization and basic needs insecurity.
3 Ways the Biden Administration Protected Students and Borrowers in 2022
The U.S. Department of Education’s final rules on borrower defense to repayment, closed school discharge, and false certification will help protect students and taxpayers from predatory institutions.
CAP’s Comment on Accessing President Biden’s Debt Relief Plan and the Education Department’s Fresh Start Initiative
This coalition letter, led by the Center for American Progress, asks the U.S. Department of Education to work closely with the U.S. Department of Justice to distribute information about student loan debt relief to incarcerated student loan borrowers.
Disparities in Housing, Health Care, Child Care, and Economic Security Affect Babies for Life
Social determinants of health, such as access to secure housing, family employment and economic stability, education, and child care, must be the focus of federal policies to support infant and toddler health.
Congress Should Guarantee Medicaid Continuous Coverage for Pregnant Women and Children
Congress has a narrow window to help preserve insurance coverage and improve both postpartum care and children’s health outcomes when the public health emergency ends.
For Native Americans, Tribal Colleges Tackle the ‘Present-Day Work of Our Ancestors’
In the first installment in a series on Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), the Center for American Progress and American Indian College Fund explore the essential role TCUs play in their communities and why investing in them should be a priority for policymakers.
The Supreme Court Censoring History and Race Would Be a Mistake
Race-conscious remedies, such as voting rights protections and affirmative action in college admissions, are supported by the Constitution, are a part of American history, and are essential to equal opportunity.
How To Make Schools Safer Without Additional Physical Security Measures
The newly enacted Bipartisan Safer Communities Act can help schools and districts create safer learning environments without resorting to implementing measures that harden schools.
Point: Canceling Student Debt Is One of Many Steps Needed to Restore the Promise of Higher Education
Jared Bass discusses why President Joe Biden’s student debt cancellation plan was a meaningful step in what should be a broader mission of upholding the promise of higher education.
Book Banning, Curriculum Restrictions, and the Politicization of U.S. Schools
State and local officials’ efforts to undermine public education by playing politics with school curricula run against the interest of most American children and families.
The Child Care Sector Will Continue To Struggle Hiring Staff Unless It Creates Good Jobs
Child care sites across the country are facing immense challenges hiring and retaining staff amid a shortage of good jobs, leaving parents struggling to find care and placing increasing stress on the workers that remain.
Child care often is treated like a private family issue, but lack of access has cascading negative impacts on child care providers, small-business owners, and broader communities.
Teacher Preparation Shortcuts Won’t Solve the Teacher Shortage
Recently passed legislation that reduces training requirements for teachers will harm student learning, weaken the profession, and ignore the systemic issues that have long contributed to teacher shortages.
