Hillary Clinton's K-12 Record Could Be Campaign Fodder
2008: Standing with graduating student Aleatha Williams, right, then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., center, watches the graduating class of Pelham Preparatory Academy in New York City march to their seats during their commencement ceremony.
—Tina Findeberg/AP-File
Decades of Policy Work Leave Trail for Rivals to Sift, Critique
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CommentsAs the first lady of Arkansas back in the 1980s, Hillary Rodham Clinton spearheaded an effort to bring rigorous public school courses to all corners of that state. As a U.S. senator from New York, she pushed for prekindergarten expansion nationally, before the issue caught political fire. And, as a presidential candidate in 2008, she clashed with her chief rival, then-Sen. Barack Obama, on tying teacher pay partly to students' test scores.
Ms. Clinton hasn't yet declared her candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, much less provided a point-by-point plan on how she might look to shape education policy as president. But almost a year before the first primary, she is widely seen as the presumptive favorite for her party's nomination should she choose to run, even as potential alternatives such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley stand in the wings.
That dominance contrasts with a wide-open prospective Republican field that includes at least one prominent likely contender, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who is closely identified with education issues.
Although Ms. Clinton's most recent public office, U.S. secretary of state, kept her away from the domestic-policy fray, her outsize stature in the political landscape makes her record on education as on other issues, such as health, the inevitable focus of early attention—and speculation.
Education Policy Résumé
From her days as first lady of Arkansas—and in the White House—to her tenure as a U.S. senator and as Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton has a long record on education and children’s issues that could offer clues to what she might emphasize should she decide to run for president in 2016.
Early-Childhood Education
- As first lady of Arkansas in the 1980s, spearheaded an effort to bring an Israeli program known as the Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youth to the state. The American version of the HIPPY program, still headquartered in Arkansas, now has a national presence.
- As first lady of the United States in the early 1990s, helped champion the creation of Early Head Start, which expanded the early-childhood education program for low-income families to children from birth to age 3.
- As a presidential candidate in 2008 campaign, pitched a $10 billion-a-year proposal to help states expand their early-childhood offerings, with the goal of giving all 4-year-olds access to prekindergarten programs.
- As a U.S. senator from New York in 2007, introduced the “Ready to Learn Act,” which would have added competitive grants for prekindergarten and other early-childhood programs to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which was up for renewal that year.
- Also introduced legislation to create a demonstration program that would offer home-visiting services to improve health and educational outcomes for low-income families.
No Child Left Behind Act
- Voted in favor of the No Child Left Behind Act as a U.S. senator in 2001.
- Introduced a bill in 2007 to increase access to free tutoring services required for students from low-performing schools and to improve the quality of tutoring providers.
- As a presidential candidate in 2008, expressed qualms about the No Child Left Behind Act and wanted to see more emphasis on measuring student growth. Favored incorporating measures beyond testing into state accountability systems, including Advanced Placement scores, graduation rates, and the results of formative assessments.
Academic Standards
- As first lady of Arkansas in 1983, chaired a committee charged with recommending new standards for the state’s schools. The committee ultimately decided to raise graduation standards and broaden course offerings.
- As a U.S. senator in 2007, introduced legislation to create a voluntary national curriculum and standards for math and science education, as well as a bill to develop demonstration programs aimed at preparing rural students for college and the workforce.
Teachers
- As first lady of Arkansas, helped push for a basic skills test for educators. The policy earned her and Gov. Bill Clinton the ire of the Arkansas Education Association.
- As a U.S. senator, introduced bills to improve principal recruitment and development, including in struggling schools, and to authorize federal appropriations for the Teach For America program.
- As a presidential candidate in 2008, called for a significant new investment in teacher professional development, but clashed with her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, then-Sen. Barack Obama, on whether it made sense to offer individual bonuses to teachers based in part on student test scores. Instead, Ms. Clinton called for extra pay for entire schools that are able to improve student outcomes.
- As a presidential candidate, was endorsed by the American Federation of Teachers. (The National Education Association chose not to endorse either Ms. Clinton her rival Mr. Obama.)
Other Areas of Interest
- As first lady of Arkansas, served on the state’s Rural Health Advisory Committee and on the board of Arkansas Children’s Hospital, and helped found Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, a group that lobbied for increased funding of child-welfare programs.
- As a U.S. senator, introduced bills aimed at improving outcomes for children in foster care, promoting community service opportunities for high school students, boosting mentoring programs for at-risk children, combating eating disorders in adolescents, and improving the energy efficiency of school facilities, among other topics related to children and schools.
Ms. Clinton's history of involvement in children's issues—going back to her work in the 1970s for an anti-poverty organization that later became the Children's Defense Fund—offers clues to where she might want to go on academic standards, teacher quality, and early learning, among other matters, and the approach she'd take to get there.
"She doesn't care about education just because everyone is supposed to care about education," said Mildred Otero, a former aide to Ms. Clinton when she was a senator and a presidential candidate. "Children's issues have really just been her issues for a really long time, before she ever entered public life."
When it comes to crafting policy, Ms. Clinton wants to know what the latest research is, and what people who have a stake in a particular issue think, Ms. Otero added.
"She has been around long enough and trying to do major change long enough to understand that you're never going to impose policy on people. You need them to get there with you."
But Chester E. Finn Jr., who served in the U.S. Department of Education under President Ronald Reagan and has been closely watching federal policy for decades, said he doesn't think of Ms. Clinton as a "significant figure" on education issues. From what he's seen, he said in an email, she has oscillated "between gutsy change agent and defender of the conventional wisdom."
"I've no idea which version would prevail were she president, and I'll bet she doesn't either," said Mr. Finn, who is now a distinguished fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a Washington think tank.
Youngest Learners
Ms. Clinton's office declined a request for an interview for this article. But ask anyone who has ever worked with her what piece of precollegiate policy is closest to her heart, and they'll answer: early-childhood education.
It's an area that many politicians, including President Obama, have embraced in recent years.
One of Ms. Clinton's earliest experiences with policy work came in researching health and educational conditions for the children of migrant workers as a summer employee for what became the Children's Defense Fund.
In the 1980s, when future President Bill Clinton was governor of Arkansas, Ms. Clinton was a driving force in bringing the Home Instruction Program for Parents of Preschool Youngsters to the state. Started in Israel, HIPPY offers home-visiting services to low-income parents.
Later, in the White House, Ms. Clinton helped push for the creation of Early Head Start, which expanded the preschool program for disadvantaged youngsters to children from birth to age 3. More recently, Ms. Clinton helped launch "Too Small to Fail," an initiative aimed at promoting research into early brain development and other issues key to children in the birth-to-age 5 range.
In 2007, then-Sen. Clinton sought to add a new program to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that would have offered competitive grants to states to expand and beef up the quality of their early-childhood-education programs.
She pitched a similar proposal, with a $10 billion annual price tag, as a 2008 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination—an idea that the eventual nominee, Mr. Obama, also picked up on. President Obama has since made expanding early-childhood education a centerpiece of his second-term agenda.
But if Ms. Clinton, as a 2016 candidate, were to float a similar program, she'd likely get hit with big questions about its cost, said Frederick M. Hess, the director of education Hillary Clinton's K-12 Record Could Be Campaign Fodder - Education Week:
