8/3/2019 Obama Record on Education, November 2011
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PAID FOR BY OBAMA FOR AMERICA
PRESIDENT OBAMAS RECORD IN BRIEF:
EDUCATION
Understanding that America has to out-educatethe rest of the
world to be competitive in the global
economy, President Obama has made education a national priority.
The President has worked to raise K-12 standards,
invest in teachers, and turn around low-performing schools so
that children are prepared for college and careers.
He has doubled our investment in scholarship and financial aid
so that students from working- and middle-class
families can access and complete the college education they need
to get the good jobs of the future.
Partnering with States to Raise Standards
The administration implemented the Race to the Top program,
which rewards states for making tough reformsraising
standards, helping teachers improve, and turning around
struggling schools.
Since 2010, the administration has awarded Race to the Top
grants to 11 states and the District of Columbiahelping
13.6 million students and 980,000 teachers in 25,000
schools.
To support community efforts to improve schools, President Obama
is offering states relief from No Child Left
Behind mandates so they have the flexibility to use local
solutions help improve schools.
Helping Teachers Help Their Students
The Obama administration fought for funding to save the jobs of
hundreds of thousands of educators across the
country. The Recovery Act saved or created nearly 300,000
education jobs, and in 2010 President Obama helped
school districts prevent 161,000 teacher and school staff
layoffs.
The American Jobs Act will more than offset projected teacher
layoffs, providing support for nearly 400,000
education jobsenough for states to avoid harmful layoffs and
rehire tens of thousands of teachers who lost
their jobs over the past three years.
Educating for Our Future
President Obama made college more affordable for 9 mil lion
students a year by doubling funding for Pell grants.
This was achieved in part by ending billions of dollars in
federal subsidies to banks acting as middlemen in the
college loan program.
The President signed a new law that caps the maximum amount of
yearly student loan repayment at 10 percent
of income above a basic living allowance for certain borrowers.
The law also allows remaining debt to be forgiven
after 20 years instead of 25 for responsible borrowers.
Teachers, nurses, and members of the armed forces will have
their student loans forgiven after 10 years if theymake repayments
on time.
A new $2,500 College Opportunity tax credit for tuition expenses
has helped an estimated 9.4 million college
students and their families in 2011.
President Obama is investing $2 billion in competitive grants to
reform community colleges, raising completion
rates and creating new programs tied to workforce needs.
President Obama signed into law an update to the post-9/11 G.I.
bill, which extends more benefits to National
Guard members who performed active service and allows for
education benefits to be transferred to family members.
