Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). (AP)
(CNSNews.com) – In response to a question about how to help U.S. companies find “talented and qualified” employees for growing companies, Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said one place to start is education reform, by getting the federal government out of it, abolishing the Department of Education, block-granting money to the states, ending Common Core, and allowing more school choice.
“Now, in terms of getting new and able workers, we need to do several things,” said Sen. Cruz during CNN’s town hall program in Wisconsin on Tuesday evening. “Number one, we need to reform education. You know, the step to having well-trained workers is having a strong education program.”
“And if you look at education right now, number one, I think the federal government needs to get the heck out of it,” he said.
“It's one of the reasons I promised on the very first day in office that I'm going to direct the Department of Education that Common Core ends that day,” said the senator.
Cruz continued, “And I think what we ought to be doing is abolishing the federal Department of Education and block-granting that money to send it back to Wisconsin. I think the people of Wisconsin know much better what to do with that money.”
“And part of that money, I think, should be directed at school choice programs, and allowing people who are trapped in failing schools to have the option of going to private schools, going to parochial schools, injecting competition in failing schools to empower parents and empower students,” he said.
“I think school choice is the civil rights issue of the 21st Century,” Cruz added.
Commenting further, the senator said. “And part of that money as well in Wisconsin ought to be directed to vocational training, ought to be directed to different nontraditional ways where people can earn skills, whether it's distance learning, whether it is using the Internet, using options where your only option isn't spending $50,000 a year at a four-year college but expanding the options for people to get education.”