Education has been the calling card of the Democratic Party when it comes to “kitchen table” matters for decades. Yet, four years after destructive COVID-19 lockdowns showed that Democrats couldn’t be trusted with the K-12 education system, it’s a concern that has been largely abandoned by the party, and when candidates do engage on it, they do so poorly.

Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign issues page notably included almost no mention of K-12 education, jumping from talks about preschool affordability to a variety of promises regarding universities, from eliminating student loan debt to Pell Grant reforms and funding for historically black colleges and universities. The K-12 system was an afterthought in her messaging.