In our education system today, equal is not equal. Not when children born into poor, near poor, and even middle-class families and neighborhoods have a small—and ever diminishing—chance of building better lives than their parents and grandparents did. Not when children of color are marooned in segregated neighborhoods conveniently out of sight of wealthy communities. Not when children are isolated in rural communities, cut off from economic opportunity. Not when children are born into families who struggle to provide the tutoring, after-school activities, and college prep resources that the wealthy so readily offer their children. Not when high school graduates are too often shackled to minimum wage rather than living wage jobs.
A half century of increasing inequality, stagnant incomes, and growing wealth disparities have harmed all of these children and families. We must replace the policies that have resulted in this inequality and lack of opportunity, including updating the minimum wage, labor laws, tax code, access to affordable health care, housing policies, antitrust laws, and regulations governing corporations and their managers. We must invest in good jobs and economic development.
As important, we must directly break the cycle in which our children are stuck, where many have little hope or real prospects for a brighter future.
The Bennet Administration will make a commitment that by 2028, every child born in this country, regardless of circumstance, will be at the center of a community that offers them a real chance to flourish personally and prosper financially. Is 2028 ambitious? Yes. Is it doable? Yes. Must we do it? Yes. It is a moral and economic imperative. Equal must really be equal.
As the former Superintendent of the Denver Public Schools—a district with 95,000 students and a billion dollar budget—and in his service in the Senate, Michael Bennet has seen and lived what works in Denver and around the country. He also has seen and lived what does not work.
The goals underpinning the Bennet Administration’s 2028 commitment are achievable, because there are a lot of policies that we know work. Home visiting programs for new parents work. Great teachers and great principals work. Quality preschools work. Engaged parents work. High expectations work. Child nutrition programs work. Longer school days and years work. Well-designed technical training works. High-quality registered apprenticeships work. Targeted support for low- and moderate-income students attending college works. Debt forgiveness tied to public service works.
But while we know these interventions work, as a country we’re not doing nearly enough of them. We have failed to come together as a nation to commit the time, effort, and resources needed to implement these proven approaches across every community.
The Bennet Administration will create 500 Regional Opportunity Compacts, which will connect the dots between what is taught in schools, what skills local employers need, and how we support students so they can enter the workforce prepared and participate in society as informed citizens. These locally-based Compacts will bring communities together around shared goals and a culture of collaboration designed to align resources, priorities, and interventions that have kids and families as a central focus. The Compacts will be rooted in local communities and adapted to their unique needs. The Bennet Administration will provide leadership, technical assistance, and financial support of $10 billion per year over five years to launch these Compacts as an investment in the future of our children, our workers, and our nation.
Regional Opportunity Compacts will be comprehensive community-based partnerships through which community leaders, school districts, non-profits, unions, business leaders, and local government leaders pledge to align themselves and work together to reach the goals underpinning the 2028 commitment. As part of these Compacts, community-based coalitions will agree to use common measures of progress set by the community, share data, and implement programs and policies designed to meet a series of goals that will ensure all kids are on a path toward opportunity.