We need to improve education in our country. We need to improve the quality of it and increase access to it. We must commit to ensuring that every child in Louisiana has a chance to get a world-class education so they can compete in the new global market. That means we need to drastically overhaul No Child Left Behind. I agree we should hold schools accountable for educating our children and that we should hold them to certain standards, but the No Child Left Behind legislation sets different benchmarks for each state and it is severely underfunded. This poorly executed program is not working to build better schools and is unfairly hurting poor school districts. 
 
What we need to do is invest our teachers. We need to give them enough support to do their jobs well, and we should not punish them for failures that are beyond their control. We should also create more incentives for young people to become teachers with partial repayment of student loans or tax breaks.
 
In today's job market, a college degree is as important as a high school diploma was a generation ago. But college is still unattainable for many Americans. If we want our workers to be able to complete in the new global market, more people need to be trained in new professions and vocations. That means we need to make attending college or trade schools more affordable and accessible to everyone. We must also ensure that vital programs like Pell Grants, Perkins Loans and other student loans, and funding for vocational education and community colleges are protected.