Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign there’s been an immense focus on college education instead of K-12 education. Below is a quick analysis of the three leading political parties differing basic education policy platforms.

The Libertarian Party presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, holds views that are consistent with the party stance. A priority is restoring educational authority to parents, by letting them determine the school for their children. He has stated that he, “would like to get the federal government out of education.” This is because the federal education system is and has been failing Americans. The change needed in the system will not come from more failed policies such as No Child Left Behind, enacted under President George W. Bush. Instead, Johnson advocates for educational decisions to be left up to state and local levels because federal interference inherently discourages innovation, flexibility, and freedom.

As Governor of New Mexico, Johnson pushed for a statewide voucher program to increase students' mobility to attend a private school. These vouchers are state-funded scholarships that children can use to go to a school of their choosing, which then allows for better options for the individual.

As a strong advocate for a federally controlled education system, Hilary Clinton and the Democratic Party (DP) disagree with proponents of school vouchers. Democrats will instead limit funding to the public education system. Under their policy, they would increase this amount of funds by investing in a national early childhood education programs such as pre-K, meaning even more federal control and oversight, from an earlier age.

On the Democrats official party draft, it is stated that they, “will end the school-to-prison pipeline,” but doesn’t necessarily outline how. I didn’t realize our public education system was known for breeding criminals, as the democrats essentially claim.

The DP also asserts that they will start a national campaign for the purpose of recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers. Most schools, and businesses in general, have a common interest in hiring staff members who are high quality. There isn’t an inherent need for an increase in capital being spent to obtain a goal that schools already are striving for. The lack of quality teachers is due to a lack of school funds. This can be solved with a better system of allocating money such as student-based budgeting, which Democrats also oppose.

The Republicans are the most extreme of the three groups, as they are calling for a constitutional amendment to protect parents rights to direct their child’s education from “interference by states, the federal government, or international bodies such as the United Nations.” They are in agreement with Johnson and believe in giving greater autonomy and educational freedom to states and local communities.

The RP platform shows support for school choice, including vouchers and tuition tax credits which give parents more flexibility to send their children to a private school. This is also quite similar to the LP position.

For further party information, check out the Libertarian Party (LP) platform, the Democratic Party (DP) platform draft, and the Republican Party (RP) platform draft.