“Here we are in the most prosperous nation, but millions of kids are getting a Third World education. And America’s minority children suffer the most,” said Mitt Romney in a speech to the Latino Coalition. “This is the civil rights issue of our era. And it’s the great challenge of our time.”
Romney also released a new white paper on education, “A Chance for Every Child: Mitt Romney’s Plan for Restoring the Promise of American Education,” in conjunction with his remarks to the Latino Coalition’s Annual Economic Summit in Washington, D.C.
In the paper, Romney notes there have been countless reforms but few results (pp. 6-9), and criticizes President Obama’s “Don’t Mend It, Just Spend It” approach to education (pp. 13-16). Romney believes supporting teachers, school choice, and focusing on results is the better approach (pp. 20-21; 23-24). He concludes, “With innovation instead of regulation, results instead of rhetoric, and accountable spending instead of just more spending, we can restore America’s promise by ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed.” (p. 34)
Romney also said he would cut Department of Education funding and blamed teachers unions for blocking needed reforms.
This is the second time this month Romney has publicly supported parental choice in education—and blasted the Obama administration for helping kill successful programs like the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program.