Introduction and Candidate Tracker

To help the media, advocates, and the public assess where the candidates stand, the Education Policy Program at New America is tracking presidential candidates’ 2020 positions on major education issues.

The Democratic candidates featured here are the 10 candidates who qualified for the November 20th debate, as determined by the rules set by the Democratic National Committee. The only Republican candidate with a sizeable amount of support in high-quality national polls conducted to date is the incumbent, and hence is the only candidate included at this time.

A snapshot of each candidate's platform is presented below, with each dot hyperlinked to the information source. Each issue area heading—child care, universal pre-K, attracting and retaining teachers, free college, debt forgiveness—links to an explanation of the importance of that issue and detailed narrative descriptions of the candidates’ positions. These narrative descriptions are critical, since even on issues where most candidates have voiced support, there is often significant variation in the substance of candidates' positions and depth of plans.

Our analysis does not suggest endorsement, support of, or opposition to any candidate; it is simply a record of whether each candidate has addressed a particular issue.

View our recommendations for candidates here.

This page will be updated as the campaign continues and candidates release more detailed plans. Please direct all inquiries to the Education Policy Program's Communications Manager, Riker Pasterkiewicz at pasterkiewicz@newamerica.org