Opening Doors to Opportunity: The Promise of Expanded School Choice & Alternatives to 4-Year Degrees

Commerce, Consumer, and Monetary Affairs

2025-09-17

Loading video...

Source: Congress.gov

Summary

This meeting of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs focused on the state of education in America, specifically addressing perceived failures in traditional K-12 and post-secondary systems and exploring alternative pathways to student success and economic prosperity. Speakers discussed the declining value of some college degrees and the rising demand for skilled trades, alongside debates on the effectiveness and implications of school choice versus public school funding.[ 00:18:59-00:22:23 ]

Themes

Critiques of Traditional Education and College Degrees

Many participants highlighted significant issues within the current education system, noting flatlined reading and math proficiency and the crumbling foundation of American education.[ 00:19:45-00:19:57 ] [ 00:25:32 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 The traditional K-12 system is seen as having grown bureaucratic, often measuring success solely by college admissions, despite the waning promise of college as a guaranteed path to prosperity.[ 00:20:00-00:20:19 ] Concerns were raised that nearly half of recent college graduates work in jobs that do not require a degree, leading to significant debt for degrees of little market value.[ 00:20:26 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Some suggested that federal subsidies to higher education contribute to increased tuition and a student debt crisis, rather than better outcomes.[ 01:17:22 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
[ 01:18:30 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in

Advocacy for School Choice and Alternative Career Pathways

Several speakers championed school choice as a means to expand options, foster innovation, and ensure accountability in education, particularly for lower-income families. It was argued that choice programs improve outcomes for both participating students and those remaining in public schools. The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" was cited as an example of incentivizing scholarships and offering school choice as a form of freedom and competition.[ 00:21:19-00:21:43 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Beyond K-12, there was a strong emphasis on the need for alternative post-secondary educational routes, such as apprenticeships and trade schools, to prepare young people for high-paying jobs in fields like manufacturing and skilled trades.[ 00:21:47-00:22:19 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Examples like Caliber Collision's Technician Apprentice Program (TAP) and the Reed Springs School District's Table Rock Career Center were presented as successful models for providing paid training, certifications, and direct pathways to employment. These programs reportedly ignite passion in students and meet crucial workforce needs, with employers eager to participate.[ 00:56:48 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in

Critiques of School Choice and Defense of Public Schools

Opponents of school choice characterized it as a "convenient euphemism" for siphoning taxpayer dollars away from public schools to less accountable private institutions. The Arizona voucher program was cited as a "catastrophic failure," leading to ballooning costs, misuse of funds on luxury items, and significant budget deficits without improving student outcomes. Public schools were highlighted as essential for educating all students, including those with disabilities, from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, and English language learners, a commitment private schools often do not share. Concerns were raised about the chronic underfunding of public schools in Florida, resulting in teacher shortages, increased class sizes, and inadequate resources for extracurriculars and school safety. The "big beautiful bill" was criticized for potentially cutting nutritional assistance and undermining labor protections, which could negatively impact students' well-being and future opportunities.

Tone of the Meeting

The meeting was largely contentious and polarized, marked by a clear ideological divide between Republican and Democratic members. Republican speakers and their invited witnesses generally advocated for school choice and alternative career paths while criticizing the failings and costs of traditional higher education and federal involvement.[ 00:18:59-00:22:23 ] [ 01:07:24-01:08:16 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
[ 01:16:51-01:17:05 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Democratic members and their witnesses strongly defended public education, critiquing school voucher programs as harmful to public schools and pointing to broader social and economic issues affecting students, such as wealth inequality and underfunding. Exchanges included sharp criticisms of each other's policy approaches and the impact of federal legislation.[ 01:07:42-01:07:52 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in
 Despite this, there was a shared underlying acknowledgment of the importance of preparing young Americans for successful futures and the workforce.[ 00:19:42 ] [ 00:25:18 ]

Citation requires full transcript

Sign in to continue

Sign in

Participants

Transcript

to speak.
It's red.
This hearing of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs will come to order.  I want to welcome everyone to today's hearing.  Without objection, the chair may declare recess at any time.  I recognize myself for the purpose of making an opening statement.   Plato once said, the direction in which education starts, a man will determine his future in life.  This truth echoes across the millennia for our youth today.  Education is the foundation of a flourishing society and individual.  And yet, in America today, our education foundation has seen cracks and has been crumbling for years.  That jeopardizes American prosperity.   For 25 years, reading and math proficiency is flatlined, our children are not flourishing, they are falling behind.  Meanwhile, the bureaucratic behemoth of traditional, and I say stress traditional K through 12 education has only grown larger, measuring its success only by the outcomes of one metric, college admissions.   For many decades, college has been thought of as the key to success in America.  College degrees guaranteed high paying, comfortable jobs.  But the promise of college as a guaranteed path to prosperity is now waning.  Half of the graduate class of 2023 now works in jobs that don't even require a degree.   Entry-level white-collar positions are disappearing as our economy changes and the use of artificial intelligence rises.  The US faces an unprecedented surplus of college graduates, many buried in debt for decades, many holding degrees of little value to the marketplace.   At the same time, our economy is starved for what higher education refuses to supply, which is manufacturing technicians, skilled tradesmen, engineers, and tradeswomen, and workers who can build to maintain the backbone of this great nation.
It's time that we reevaluate our education system.   Fortunately, President Trump and congressional Republicans have made considerable efforts to challenge the traditional model.  The One Big Beautiful Bill Act that was signed into law earlier this year incentivizes funding of scholarships and offers an opportunity for parents to send their children to the best schools.   School choice is not a theory.  It's freedom, and it's competition, and it is accountability.  It is vital to our economy, and it should be as American as apple pie and baseball.   And alternative choices are not just needed at the K through 12 level, they are also needed at the post-secondary level.  Recent reporting from the Department of Labor highlights that in the trades, the average salary after completion of an apprenticeship is $11,000 more than that of recent college graduates.  Career and trades, as well as we will hear today from our witnesses, are vital.  They offer high paying jobs and provide ample opportunities   across our education and training programs.  And they are vital to prepare young people to take advantage of these opportunities.  They pass on critical learning that upholds and strengthens businesses and local economies.   America needs more post-secondary educational alternatives to prepare young people for these rewarding careers, alternatives that offer clear-cut and viable opportunities compared to underperforming four-year college programs.  America's youth and families deserve, and America's economy demands, educational and career training choices that better fit students, families, and the needs of our communities.  And with that, I yield to Ranking Member Frost for his opening statement.
Thank you, Chairman Burleson, and thank you so much to the witnesses for being here this morning.  In America, every student's school should set them up for success in life and a plan after graduation, whether it's four-year college, trade school, apprenticeship, or going straight into the workforce so that a student can survive in the 21st century in our country.   But in the richest country in the world, every child should be able to unleash their potential and flourish.  It's a promise that we're failing to keep 2025 test scores in high school reading and math shows the lowest results in decades.  Too many schools are not paying their teachers enough or do not have strong extracurricular programs.  More than half of the school districts need major upgrades or renovations to their buildings.   And too many students are graduating high school without a concrete plan for what comes next.  And for many, it's a problem of opportunity.  Communities of color, rural communities, working class families have systemically been excluded from quality education and a better future.  House Democrats have been fighting to fix this.  We worked with President Biden to help schools recover from the pandemic.  We push for robust child nutritional programs because kids can't learn when they're hungry.   We work to ensure that schools have clean drinking water free from lead contamination.  And we've consistently stood with children when fighting to enact gun violence prevention measures, actions that Americans overwhelmingly support.

Sign up for free to see the full transcript

Accounts help us prevent bots from abusing our site. Accounts are free and will allow you to access the full transcript.

Sign up