Dr.Jill Bidenon Tuesday reiterated her years-long support for giving Americans free access to community college, saying “we have to do it now.”
She continued: “We’re going to make sure students have the support they need to cross that finish line. We’re going to invest in programs that prepare our workers for jobs of the future.”
The first lady, who has a doctorate in education, taught while serving as second lady and is continuing to work as a community college English professor while in the White House.
First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.CBS via Getty
On the campaign trail, PresidentJoe Bidenalso touted the importance of free community college or high-quality training programs for Americas.
As vice president, he and former PresidentBarack Obamapusheda similar planin Congress, which would have made two years of community college tuition-free for “hard-working students,” though that proposal never came to fruition over Republican objections.
Dr. Biden has likewiseoften toutedthe value of community colleges and advocated for increased access. In a 2015 interview onLate Night With Seth Meyers, she pushed the tuition-free proposal, saying, “We want to make college affordable for all Americans.”
The Biden administration is likely to revive that idea.
“In the 21st century, twelve years of school isn’t enough,” he tweeted in December, roughly one month before taking office. “That’s why under the Biden-Harris plan, community college will be free — and public colleges and universities will be tuition-free for families earning less than $125,000 a year.”
From left: First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and President Joe Biden.Alex Wong/Getty
The president has also made reopening schools amid thenovel coronavirus(COVID-19) pandemic a top priority, signingan executive orderpromising to “support the reopening and continuing operation of schools and early childhood education providers.”
Biden has said he wants schools to reopen safely, though the issue is one of the thorniest in the pandemic, with competing health and funding concerns.
Dr. Biden is the first presidential spouse in modern memory who has said they will keep a separate job outside the White House.
“I’m going to continue to teach,” she toldCBS Sunday Morningin November. “It’s important, and I want people to value teachers and know their contributions and lift up their profession.”
“That’s my passion,” she told PEOPLE. “That’s my life.”
Just one day after her husband was sworn in to office, Dr. Biden hosted her first virtual event,a tribute to educatorsthat included a recorded video message from the first lady, in which she thanked teachers for their “heroic commitment” throughout the pandemic.
“I have never felt prouder of our profession,” the first lady said. “In this pandemic, educators have shown a heroic commitment to their students. So, on behalf of a grateful nation, thank you. You have been so strong. And now it’s time for us to be strong for you.”
source: people.com
