The 2024 U.S. elections are arriving quickly, and both major political parties have offered perspectives about higher education issues as part of their platforms.
Below, you can find a side-by-side comparison of the parties’ platforms on important higher education issues—quoted directly from platform documents. Any changes, which are demarcated in brackets, are intended to ensure clarity.
AGB will update this information as needed.
This information is intended to inform college and university board members about the intent of the two major political parties on higher education. It should not be construed as an endorsement of any candidate.
Department of Education
“We are going to close the Department of Education in Washington, D.C. and send [Education] back to the States, where it belongs, and let the States run our educational system as it should be run.”
“Trump repeatedly proposed billions in cuts to Social Security Disability Insurance and called for restrictions on eligibility and benefit cutbacks. He called to cut funding for special education grants and eliminate federal funding for the Special Olympics. He has promised to close the Department of Education, threatening enforcement of IDEA protections for students with disabilities. And he rescinded guidance protecting students with disabilities, including guidance aimed at ensuring students with disabilities were not unfairly disciplined. Democrats will enforce laws that ensure equal opportunity for people with disabilities: the ADA, IDEA, the Fair Housing Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Mental Health Parity Act, and the Help America Vote Act. We oppose efforts to weaken the ADA and build on the ACA to prevent health care discrimination. Democrats will enforce the Olmstead integration mandate and enforce non-discrimination protections in health care, employment, education, housing, voting. We will promote equitable treatment of students with disabilities so every child with disabilities can thrive. And to support people with disabilities and their families, we will support home and community-based care and end the subminimum wage.”
Criminal Justice and Education
No stated position in the party platform
“President Biden is committed to rehabilitation and reentry for people returning to their communities after incarceration, and to building a criminal justice system that lives up to those ideals and ensures that everyone receives equal justice under law.”
“The Administration is improving rehabilitation in jails and prisons and helping people rebuild their lives, an important step in reducing recidivism. It has invested nearly $1 billion in job training, addiction recovery, and reentry services across the country; and expanded access to Pell Grants, so people can earn a college degree while they are incarcerated, starting over with new skills.”
“The Administration will keep investing in housing, mentorship, job training, and apprenticeship programs as well. It is working to end the school-to-prison pipeline by reissuing guidance from the Departments of Education and Justice to prevent disparate discipline of children of color and with disabilities and incentivizing states to develop community-based alternatives to prison for young people.”
“To keep children and teens safe and out of the justice system, we will invest in after-school programs, community centers, and summer jobs. And, to ensure young people get a second chance after leaving the justice system, we will automatically seal and expunge juvenile records.”
Investments in Minority-Serving Institutions
No stated position in the party platform
“For young people just heading to college now, we’ve already secured the largest increase in Pell Grants in a decade, and we’ll further expand these grants to 7 million more students, and double the maximum award by 2029. We’ve invested a record $16 billion in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); and we’re working to subsidize tuition at all Minority Serving Institutions for anyone whose family earns less than $125,000 a year.”
“We’ll keep investing in partnerships with HBCUs, MSIs, and Tribal Colleges and Universities to strengthen and diversify the teacher pipeline, so students of every background can see themselves at the head of the classroom and in charge of their schools.”
“We’ll also establish a new national lab for climate research and innovation, affiliated with an HBCU, Hispanic-, or other Minority-Serving Institution, to ensure the opportunities of the future are available to everyone, and built by everyone.”
“And, the Minority Business Development Agency, now a permanent part of the Commerce Department, is opening new offices and building partnerships with HBCUs, in its work to help minority-owned businesses across the country to overcome barriers and grow.”
“We’re also investing in recruiting and training teachers from all communities, including in partnership with HBCUs, MSIs, and TCUs; and helping them to get the pay that they deserve. It matters to children when they see someone who looks like them at the front of a classroom.”
Data Privacy and AI
“We will repeal Joe Biden’s dangerous Executive Order that hinders AI Innovation, and imposes Radical Leftwing ideas on the development of this technology. In its place, Republicans support AI Development rooted in Free Speech and Human Flourishing”
“We are safeguarding patients’ and providers’ privacy, including by strengthening HIPAA protections, cracking down on the illegal sharing of personal information, strengthening consumer data protections, and issuing guidance to protect student privacy in this area.”
“We’re providing life-saving treatment for opioid use disorder to end the epidemic, making historic investments in mental health care to help struggling Americans, establishing new high standards for AI safety and protecting American privacy, bringing together providers, insurers, and researchers to work toward ending cancer, and passed the PACT Act to expand health care benefits to veterans.”
“Democrats are determined to strengthen data privacy. The President issued an Executive Order to protect America’s sensitive personal data from commercial data brokers, identity thieves, and foreign intelligence actors. And, the Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on commercial surveillance and taking on technology companies for illegally retaining children’s data. We must do more and update and pass the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights, protect student data privacy by ensuring what is collected in schools is only used for education, and update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to protect personal electronic information and safeguard location information.”
“President Biden issued a landmark Executive Order directing federal agencies to establish new high standards for AI safety and security, protect Americans’ privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for workers and consumers, promote competitive markets for AI development and use, and more. Democrats are committed to ensuring that workers get a voice in how AI is used in their workplace and that they share fairly in any economic gains AI produces.”
Antisemitism on College Campuses
“DEPORT PRO-HAMAS RADICALS AND MAKE OUR COLLEGE CAMPUSES SAFE AND PATRIOTIC AGAIN”
“…pursue Civil Rights cases against Schools that discriminate.”
“As part of that strategy, the Administration clarified, for the first time in writing, that Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits certain forms of antisemitic, Islamophobic, and related discrimination, including discrimination by national origin, in federally funded programs and activities. President Biden continues to take bold action to combat antisemitism on college campuses. And he has prioritized fighting antisemitism abroad by appointing Deborah Lipstadt as U.S. Special Envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, an ambassador-level position.”
Title IX
“To keep students safe on campus, we will work with schools to implement and enforce Title IX and end sexual harassment and assault in our nation’s schools. We will eliminate the rape kit backlog. And we will strengthen legal protections for and support survivors of deepfake image-based sexual abuse building on the federal civil cause of action established under the president’s reauthorization of VAWA [the Violence Against Women Act] in 2022.”
“President Biden launched the first-ever National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence, and the American Rescue Plan provided immediate crisis intervention, health supports, and emergency services for survivors. He expanded funding for campus sexual assault prevention and is keeping students safe on campus by restoring and strengthening protections under Title IX, including explicit protections for LGBTQI+ students.”
Affordability and Loan Forgiveness
“To reduce the cost of Higher Education, Republicans will support the creation of additional, drastically more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year College degree.”
“…drive down Tuition costs…”
“For young people just heading to college now, we’ve already secured the largest increase in Pell Grants in a decade, and we’ll further expand these grants to 7 million more students, and double the maximum award by 2029.”
“A majority of college students graduate with student debt. It can be an overwhelming stress, as snowballing interest follows folks for decades, defining the choices they make and the jobs they take, and holding back our entire economy. Although Republican appointees on the Supreme Court blocked the President’s initial student debt relief plan for 40 million borrowers, he has not stopped using every available tool to provide relief. His Administration already approved the cancellation of $167 billion in loans for nearly 5 million borrowers, including nearly a million public servants like teachers, nurses, and police; and it has outlined plans to deliver relief to 30 million borrowers in all. Meanwhile, its new SAVE plan is the most affordable student-loan repayment plan in history, helping 8 million Americans—including more than 4.5 million who now have a $0 monthly payment. These savings will transform lives, freeing people to buy a house, to start a family, or to launch a business with new hope.”
“Democrats are also working to make college more affordable, and to relieve the crippling burden of student debt, which disproportionately falls on students of color. Black students take on 85 percent more debt than white peers, and both Black and Latino borrowers are more likely to hold debt many years longer after graduation, deferring their dreams to buy a home, build a family, or start a business. That’s why the President’s action to cancel $167 billion in student loans for nearly five million Americans, and to ease repayment for millions of others is such an important step in leveling the playing field for everyone.”
Career and Technical Education
“Republicans will emphasize Education to prepare students for great jobs and careers, supporting project-based learning and schools that offer meaningful work experience. We will expose politicized education models and fund proven career training programs.”
“Four year college is not the only pathway to a good career, so Democrats are investing in other forms of education as well, including career and technical education. The Administration is expanding job training partnerships that connect high schools, local businesses, and labor unions to prepare students for good jobs in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industries. It’ll make trade school and community college free for every American. And it’s making record investments in registered apprenticeships—which already train more than one million Americans a year across industries, including cutting-edge industries. Some 90 percent of them stay on as full hires, earning an average starting salary of $80,000 a year. That’s a path to the middle class that families can count on.”
Accreditation
No stated position in the party platform
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