Education

As a mom raising four boys, I understand that families across this country want the best education possible for their children and want to have a say in education matters. We want to be able to go to schoolboard meetings and speak up without having the FBI label us domestic terrorists.

I oppose sweeping federal mandates that usurp power from local school districts. Common Core has ripped apart the education system by failing to provide students the necessary tools and resources to excel beyond the classroom. One size does not fit all when it comes to education and our nation's youth, and education matters are best handled at the state, local, and family levels.

In rural Colorado, we know the importance of school-to-career programs, which I why I introduced an  amendment to support apprenticeship programs that give our students the tools they need to succeed while starting their careers.

I am working to ensure that our rural schools have the same resources as big city schools, which is why I successfully ensured that full funding for the Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Program was signed into law. The $515 million I secured for the PILT Program will help fund rural schools that lose out on property tax revenue due to tax-exempt federal lands in their jurisdiction.

My Active Forest Management, Wildfire Prevention, and Community Protection Act includes a provision that requires 25% of all forestry revenues from national forests to be reinvested into local communities, including their schools. My bill will help revitalize schools in rural communities and ensure they have the resources to invest in the next generation.

I support school choice, because far too often, a child's potential is limited by being trapped in a failing school. Unfortunately, the current one-size-fits-all education system makes educational quality a function of a family's zip code. This inflexibility creates big problems. One in five Americans is illiterate, and many more are only able to read at a basic level. When compared with the rest of the world, America ranks 24th in reading, 25th in science, and 40th in math. America used to lead the world in education, but now countries like China and Japan are outpacing us.

School choice helps change this trajectory by allowing parents to place their children in a school that works for their unique needs. Parents know how to raise their children better than government bureaucrats and teachers' unions, and they are most capable of deciding what is in their child’s best interest, whether that be a private school, a public school, a charter school, or a religious school.

Our current education system is in a sad state of affairs. I have cosponsored numerous pieces of legislation to protect our children from critical race theory and woke gender propaganda being taught in our schools. When Biden’s Department of Justice labeled parents domestic terrorists, I stepped in to demand accountability.

When Democrats introduced funding for woke colleges, I introduced an amendment to prohibit tax dollars for this purpose. When Biden unilaterally forgave student loans in a last-ditch election year bribe, I stood up for people who worked hard to pay off their student loans or chose a different career path that did not require student debt. 

When leftists allowed a man to dominate in women’s sports, I stood up for female athletes being left behind.

Throughout the pandemic, we saw teachers' unions advocate for unscientific policies that hurt our children’s education for the sake of politics. This is the same tired strategy they use to oppose school choice, and I will continue to put our students ahead of politics by standing up to the unions. I cosponsored the Keep Kids in Schools Act to ensure in-person learning continues. I also cosponsored the Championing Our Parents Act to prohibit any federal funds from being used to label parents concerned about education domestic terrorists.

Colorado’s Third District has some of the most gifted students in the nation. I enjoy highlighting their achievements through the high school Congressional Art Competition and by nominating CO-03’s best and brightest to the U.S. Service Academies. If you are a high school student or if you know a high school student interested in the Congressional Art Competition or in a nomination to the U.S. Service Academies, please reach out to my office!

As a mom of four, I know that Colorado’s students are our future, and I am working hard for them.