Donald Trump vs. Kamala Harris: Their clashing stances on pupil loans, educating sexuality and different schooling points

On Tuesday evening, September 9, a conflict of titans unfolded as former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris squared off of their inaugural presidential debate, hosted by ABC Information in Philadelphia. For 90 minutes, they debated numerous subjects, together with financial points, commerce wars, and abortion rights. Though there was no particular deal with the schooling sector, Donald Trump did carry up the problem of pupil loans, discussing the Supreme Court docket’s rejection of Biden’s mortgage forgiveness plan.Let’s check out the place Trump and Harris stand on a number of key factors relating to the schooling sector within the US.

Waiving off Pupil Loans

The rising value of school schooling and the ensuing surge in pupil mortgage debt has develop into a major concern in the US. Based on a overseas media report, the price of faculty has greater than doubled over the previous 4 many years, resulting in a 66% improve in pupil mortgage debt over the previous decade, with the whole debt now exceeding $1.74 trillion, as per the Federal Reserve. Notably, the Supreme Court docket had halted Biden’s pupil mortgage forgiveness plan. Now, the large query is: Ought to the federal government take motion to alleviate pupil debt?
Kamala Harris’s View: Vice President Harris reiterated her dedication, alongside President Biden, to increasing their debt forgiveness insurance policies. She envisions a future the place public servants not need to ‘wrestle with the burden of student-loan debt’. Whereas she didn’t present particular particulars about her plans if elected, she highlighted the Biden administration’s three-part plan introduced final 12 months, which included forgiveness of as much as $20,000 for federal pupil mortgage debtors.
Donald Trump’s View: Former President Trump criticized the Biden administration for what he described as deceptive faculty graduates with guarantees of pupil mortgage cancellation. He praised the Supreme Court docket for halting Biden’s pupil mortgage forgiveness plan, arguing that it might have been “very unfair to hundreds of thousands of people that have paid their debt by means of exhausting work.”

Instructing About Racial Concept, Sexuality and Gender

One other hotly debated difficulty within the US schooling system is the appropriate age for college students to be taught about sexuality and gender. Based on a global media report, whereas most lecturers, college students, and fogeys agree that discussing racism in faculties is vital, there’s a blended response with regards to LGBTQ+-related subjects. Some lecturers imagine that discussions on gender id shouldn’t happen in faculties, and opinions are divided amongst teenagers as effectively.
Kamala Harris’ View: Vice President Harris has persistently opposed makes an attempt to restrict how race is taught in faculties, labelling the proponents of such measures as extremists who refuse to “acknowledge our nation’s true and full historical past.” She has additionally spoken out in opposition to bans on books about LGBTQ+ experiences and legal guidelines that limit what lecturers can talk about within the classroom.
Donald Trump’s View: Trump has vowed to take away what he calls ‘vital race idea’. Important race idea is an mental and social motion and a loosely organized framework of authorized evaluation based mostly on the premise that race will not be a pure, biologically grounded characteristic of bodily distinct subgroups of human beings however a socially constructed class used to oppress and exploit folks of colour.
Whereas it involves educating about sexuality and gender, Trump appears to be fairly conservative. Though he has not specified an age at which college students ought to find out about sexuality or gender, he has pledged to chop federal funding to varsities that promote what he refers to as “transgender madness.”

The Transgender Pupil Debate

Points surrounding transgender college students have lengthy been some extent of competition within the US. Final month, the US Supreme Court docket quickly blocked a brand new Biden administration rule aimed toward defending college students from discrimination based mostly on gender id. Moreover, debates persist about which bogs transgender college students ought to use and which sports activities groups they need to be a part of.
Kamala Harris’s View: Harris has opposed state legal guidelines that deny transgender people entry to bogs that match their gender id, arguing that such legal guidelines quantity to gender id discrimination. The Biden-Harris administration has issued guidelines prohibiting faculties from discriminating in opposition to college students based mostly on gender id, though they haven’t straight addressed the participation of transgender college students in sports activities.
Donald Trump’s View: Throughout his presidency, Trump rolled again protections that allowed transgender college students to make use of college bogs aligning with their gender id. At a 2022 marketing campaign rally, he said he would “ban males from ladies’s sports activities,” a transparent reference to barring transgender ladies from competing in ladies’s sports activities.

One other main debate that has been ongoing issues the US Schooling Division. Former President Donald Trump advocates for shutting down the division, whereas Vice President Kamala Harris opposes this transfer. Many Republicans help native management of schooling, however Harris and lots of Democrats argue that this might exacerbate inequities, notably for marginalized college students in some districts.
Donald Trump’s Views: Final month, Trump mentioned his plan to dismantle the Division of Schooling throughout a one-on-one interview with billionaire Elon Musk. Trump said, “I wish to shut up the Division of Schooling and transfer schooling again to the states,” in response to worldwide media stories. He and a few Republicans argue that schooling must be managed on the native and state ranges, contending that the U.S. Structure doesn’t present for a federal function in schooling.
Kamala Harris’s Views: In her Democratic Conference speech, Harris responded to Trump’s proposal, stating, “We’re not going to let him eradicate the Division of Schooling that funds our public faculties,” as reported by worldwide media.