Education is the foundation for our future. It is how we open doors, inspire creativity, train problem-solvers, and shape tomorrow's leaders. Every child and young person in Tennessee deserves a chance to reach their full potential - yet right now, our schools are struggling. We are failing our students and our educators.

We're facing an administration that has all but shuttered the Department of Education, a national teacher shortage that's impacting Tennessee, unequal access to technology, and school funding per student that's 44th in the country.

What do we do about it?

• Use the same strategy that Republicans are using to recruit thousands of new employees to ICE - provide significant hiring and retention bonuses to teachers, federal student loan forgiveness, and strong retirement benefits. Teachers are shaping the next generation and they should be appropriately valued, compensated, and resourced.

• Spend public dollars on public schools - East Tennessee families rely on strong public schools. Tax dollars should support the schools our communities already have with resources they need.

• Invest in trade schools and vocational programs across high schools and community colleges so East Tennessee graduates are prepared for skilled trades.

• Address the root causes of why college tuition has skyrocketed - including cuts in public funding and costly overhead - so that any proposals to cancel student debt aren't a short-term problem to a long-term solution.

• Cap loan rates for student loans so students aren't paying for their education many times over and completely reinstate student loan forgiveness for public service.

• Protect our colleges and universities from federal overreach, ICE threats, and attacks on free speech so that innovation and opportunity can continue to thrive on our campuses of higher education.