Education

                 “It’s not about the next election. It’s about the next generation”.                                    Senator Barbarb Mikulski

MAKING COLLEGE MORE AFFORDABLE

• Tuition Tax Credits- created $2,500 tax credit for college.
• Pell Grants- increased need based Pell Grants to $5,350 a year.
• Aid for students- not banks.
• Cut interest rates in half for need based loans.
• Loan forgiveness for public service work- For grads who go into the military, law enforcement, teaching, nursing and social work.
• National Service- A creator of Americorps program to enable students to earn money for college or to pay off student debt while serving their communities.
• Strengthening Maryland’s Community Colleges by expanding distance learning and nurse education. Introduced legislation to increase capacity at Community Colleges.

SCHOOLS YOU CAN COUNT ON

• Prevented layoffs of almost 5,000 Maryland teachers- keeping teachers in classrooms and classes smaller.
• Special Education- Increased funding for IDEA

INVESTING IN MATH AND SCIENCE

• Increased Funding for STEM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) through the National Science Foundation.
• Expanded scholarships to train math and science teachers.
• Created Aeronautics Consortium for Maryland Colleges to work with NASA.
• Created grant program at Historically Black Colleges for science, technology and engineering.