Should the federal government subsidize teacher pay?
Yes
Joe Biden
Former vice president
“Teachers and school personnel do some of the most important and hardest work, but too often they aren’t rewarded. As President, Biden will correct this wrong,” his education plan said. “Biden will triple funding for Title I, the federal program funding schools with a high percentage of students from low-income families, and require districts to use these funds to offer educators competitive salaries and make other critical investments prior to directing the funds to other purposes.”
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Michael Bennet (Dropped out)
U.S. senator, Colorado
Bennet is no longer running for president. “Yes, our teachers need to be paid like the professionals that they are, especially in schools with high rates of poverty, students with disabilities, and other community needs,” Bennet told The Post. “Though the primary responsibility for funding education will remain at the state and local level, the federal government has a role in supporting these schools and the teachers in them.”
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Mike Bloomberg (Dropped out)
Former New York mayor
Bloomberg is no longer running for president. “Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for raising teacher salaries,” Bloomberg said in a July 2019 NAACP speech. “And when I was mayor, we raised teachers’ salaries in New York City a lot – by 42 percent. That’s probably more than any other large jurisdiction in the country. And we more than doubled the education budget in New York City. Around the country, the low salaries that many teachers are paid are a disgrace – and I think we should fix it.”
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Cory Booker (Dropped out)
U.S. senator, New Jersey
Booker is no longer running for president. “Yes, we must do more to support the people doing some of the most important jobs in our country – our teachers. We need to consider a massive federal investment to boost teacher pay and eliminate those pay disparities,” Booker told The Post. “ In the Senate, I am working to address those disparities by writing the STRIVE Act, which would eliminate student debt for teachers who commit to the profession for at least seven years, and reduce it for others. The STRIVE Act also expands the teacher tax credit to put more money in the pockets of teachers, who too often go into their own pockets to pay for things for their students that they shouldn’t have to pay for, like food and school supplies.”
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Steve Bullock (Dropped out)
Governor, Montana
Bullock is no longer running for president. “Teacher pay should be increased both to fairly compensate the people we trust with our kids, and to attract more talent to the profession,” Bullock told The Post. “But we shouldn’t use federal money to subsidize local salaries across the board. Federal support for teacher pay subsidies should go to the school districts that need them the most, in order to attract talent they couldn’t otherwise.”
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Pete Buttigieg (Dropped out)
Former mayor, South Bend, Ind.
Buttigieg is no longer running for president. “We need to respect and value our teachers as the essential public servants that they are, and we need to compensate them accordingly. We need federal support for boosting teacher pay, and we need to begin by directing it to Title I schools — the schools with the most economic and racial inequity, and with the most students on free and reduced price lunch,” Buttigieg's campaign site said.
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Julian Castro (Dropped out)
Former mayor, San Antonio
Castro is no longer running for president. “We also have to make a new commitment to the thousands of teachers and support staff that guide and teach our children,” Castro's education plan said. “We need to pay our teachers more, cut down on class sizes to foster individualized learning, and equip our educators and schools with the resources they need to be successful.”
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Kirsten Gillibrand (Dropped out)
U.S. senator, New York
Gillibrand is no longer running for president. “A child’s opportunity and success shouldn’t depend on which block they grew up on,” Gillibrand's campaign website said. “To strengthen our communities, combat systemic inequality and ensure all of our kids have the chance to reach their potential, we have to invest in our public schools. This means paying teachers a living wage, maintaining small class sizes, and ensuring teachers have the resources and support they need.”
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Kamala D. Harris (Dropped out)
U.S. senator, California
Harris is no longer running for president. “America’s teachers are drastically underpaid and they deserve a raise. That’s exactly what Kamala Harris intends to give them as President. We’ll make the largest investment in teachers in American history and provide the average teacher a $13,500 raise, entirely closing the teacher pay gap,” Harris's teacher pay proposal said.
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John Hickenlooper (Dropped out)
Former governor, Colorado
Hickenlooper is no longer running for president. “Yes, I believe the federal government can play a role in increasing teacher pay,” Hickenlooper told The Post.
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Jay Inslee (Dropped out)
Governor, Washington state
Inslee is no longer running for president. “Washington state saw the highest average increase in public school teacher pay of any state in the union in 2018-2019 — 31% — and increased the average teacher salary from $56,000 to $73,000,” Inslee's campaign website said. “As president, Jay Inslee will once again make the federal government a partner for states and communities, and the guarantor of justice and equity in our schools. He will meet the challenge of investing in education in the same way that he has in Washington state: by supporting local educators and communities with the resources they need to best educate all of the children they’re responsible for, investing in lifelong learning, prioritizing climate change throughout the education system, and making higher education affordable for everyone so that people can obtain the skills they need to pursue their dreams and work in the country’s fastest-growing fields.”
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Amy Klobuchar (Dropped out)
U.S. senator, Minnesota
Klobuchar is no longer running for president. Klobuchar supports subsidizing teacher pay, she told The Post. “We also need to make sure all our children can get a great education,” Klobuchar's campaign website said. “That means increasing teacher pay and funding for our public schools, with a focus on investment in areas that need it the most.”
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Beto O'Rourke (Dropped out)
Former U.S. representative, Texas
O'Rourke is no longer running for president. “Beto’s administration will dedicate $500 billion toward the creation of a Permanent Fund committed to closing funding gaps, creating incentives for states and districts to guarantee fair funding for public schools and pay teachers professional wages,” O'Rourke's campaign website said. “The use of funds will be determined by each school based on engagement with educators, students, parents, civil rights groups, education stakeholders, and community leaders. ... Priorities for the fund could include increasing educator pay for all teachers and other specialized staff through a process that assures educators and their union a strong, meaningful decision-making role — with additional pay for educators in high poverty schools.”
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Deval Patrick (Dropped out)
Former governor, Massachusetts
Patrick is no longer running for president. Patrick believes the federal government subsidize teacher pay, a campaign spokesperson told The Post. “As President, I will support a multi-fold increase in Title I funds, the primary federal resources available to schools that serve the highest percentage of low-income students,” his education plan said. “We will direct local school districts to use these additional funds to increase teacher pay in the neediest schools to close the teacher pay gap and help attract talented educators to schools serving low-income students.”
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Tim Ryan (Dropped out)
U.S. representative, Ohio
Ryan is no longer running for president. “Yes. As the husband of an elementary school teacher, I know the difference a teacher can make and understand the challenges modern teachers face,” Ryan told The Post. “A comprehensive education policy must start with recognizing the value of our country’s educators. This means ensuring teachers are paid a living wage. Teachers should not be forced to get a second job to make ends meet.”
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Bernie Sanders (Dropped out)
U.S. senator, Vermont
Sanders is no longer running for president. “Yes,” a campaign spokesperson told The Post. “Today, teachers now make 21 percent less – and they now, on average, make less than the typical worker in every state. In America today, a third of all teachers are working a second job and running up debt just to make ends meet. [Sanders] will significantly increase teacher pay by working with states to set a starting salary for teachers at no less than $60,000 tied to cost of living, years of service, and other qualifications; and allowing states to go beyond that floor based on geographic cost of living.”
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Joe Sestak (Dropped out)
Former U.S. representative, Pennsylvania
Sestak is no longer running for president. “Yes, especially for teachers in high-poverty schools and rural areas needing to attract teachers,” Sestak told The Post.
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Tom Steyer (Dropped out)
Billionaire activist
Steyer is no longer running for president. Steyer supports subsidizing teacher pay, he told The Post.
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Elizabeth Warren (Dropped out)
U.S. senator, Massachusetts
Warren is no longer running for president. “Strengthening education in America also means supporting public school teachers by raising their pay,” Warren told The Post. “There are a few different approaches to accomplishing that, including direct federal subsidies to states. My universal child care will also raise wages for child care workers and early education teachers.”
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Marianne Williamson (Dropped out)
Author
Williamson is no longer running for president. “Yes. We need to attract and retain high quality teachers,” Williamson told The Post.
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Andrew Yang (Dropped out)
Tech entrepreneur
Yang is no longer running for president. “As President, I will work with states to fund their educational systems to improve teacher salaries and reduce layers of administration, leading to better educational outcomes,“ Yang's campaign site said.
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Unclear/no response
Bill de Blasio (Dropped out)
Mayor, New York City
de Blasio is no longer running for president. De Blasio did not provide an answer to this question.
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John Delaney (Dropped out)
Former U.S. representative, Maryland
Delaney is no longer running for president. Delaney did not provide an answer to this question.
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Tulsi Gabbard (Dropped out)
U.S. representative, Hawaii
Gabbard is no longer running for president. Gabbard did not provide an answer to this question.
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Seth Moulton (Dropped out)
U.S. representative, Massachusetts
Moulton is no longer running for president. Moulton did not provide an answer to this question.
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Background Teacher salaries are typically funded with local and state money, with some federal subsidies for teachers in schools with a significant number of poor students. This year, several candidates have suggested subsidizing teacher pay with federal tax money.
The Post is sending detailed questionnaires to every Democratic candidate asking for their stances on various issues. See all the issues we’ve asked about so far.
See our other questions on education:
- How should the government subsidize public four-year college?
- How should the government subsidize two-year college?
- Should the government cancel existing student debt, and if so, for everyone or based on income?
- Do you support the use of public charter schools as an alternative to traditional systems?
- In Title IX investigations, should college students accused of sexual assault have the right to cross examine their accusers?
- Should the federal government fund and implement a national, free universal pre-K program?
- Should federal courts or agencies be more aggressive in encouraging or pressuring school districts to desegregate their schools?
- Do you support using public money in the form of vouchers or tax credits for private or religious school education?
- If you have children, did they attend K-12 public schools for the majority of their school years?
How candidate positions were compiled
The Washington Post sent a detailed questionnaire to every Democratic presidential campaign asking whether it supports various changes to U.S. education policy. Candidates with similar stances were organized into groups using a combination of those answers, legislative records, action taken in an executive role and other public comments, such as policy discussion on campaign websites, social media posts, interviews, town hall meetings and other news reports. See something we missed? Let us know.
This page will update as we learn more about the candidates’ plans. We also will note if candidates change their position on an issue. At initial publication, this page included major candidates who had announced a run for president. If a candidate dropped out after a question was published here, their stance is included under the "Show former candidates" option. If they dropped out before a question was first published, the Post did not reach out to get their stance.
Curious about where candidates stand on another policy? Fill out this suggestion form.
Candidate illustrations by Ben Kirchner.