Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal will release an education plan on Monday through his national policy shop, America Next. The plan joins defense, energy, and healthcare plans that have already been released by America Next, as Jindal looks to take an early lead on policy issues among potential 2016 presidential candidates.
The details of the education plan are yet to be released, but Jindal’s positions on education are very clear. Expect Jindal’s education plan to expand school choice and take a firm stance against Common Core.
On Thursday, Jindal spoke out against Common Core to the American Principles Project. Jindal admitted he had supported Common Core initially, but said it was a “bait and switch.”
“When this was proposed, we were told it would be a state-led initiative, that states would have control over their standards. I’m all for high standards. I’m all for expectations. … What happened, just as you saw with Obamacare, was they told us one thing and they delivered another,” Jindal told reporters.
He added that states had to commit to Common Core standards for Race to the Top funding even before the standards were officially unveiled. Commitment to Common Core was also required for a waiver from No Child Left Behind’s requirements.
Under Jindal, Louisiana has been a bright spot for the school choice movement. Thanks to the Louisiana Scholarship Program, low-income students in poor public schools can receive government-funded scholarships to private schools. Jindal also enacted a tax deduction for educational expenses spent on private school tuition and required materials. Other school choice programs with a more narrow scope have been passed more recently under Jindal.
The education plan will be the newest of Jindal’s policy plans. His energy plan would promote energy development and job growth through deregulation, approval of Keystone XL, and expanded oil and natural gas production. Jindal’s defense plan echoed Reagan’s “peace through strength” strategy and would boost military spending while reforming the Defense Department to ensure defense money is spent wisely. His healthcare plan, also touted on Thursday, would completely repeal Obamacare and, among other tax code reforms, expand health savings accounts to bring down healthcare costs.
While Jindal has released several national policy plans, other potential 2016 candidates have done little to outline their platforms. Many of the candidates have political action committees, but those committees have not released any detailed policy plans. Ben Carson’s USA First PAC has two brief issue statements listed on gun rights and Israel, but nothing in-depth. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum’s nonprofit has brief issue statements on economic freedom, national security, social issues and a few other areas. To be fair, legislation introduced by current members of Congress could be considered a policy plan.
The closest thing to Jindal’s policy nonprofit is the Foundation for Excellence in Education, which former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush founded to support school choice and Common Core, among other education reforms. But the foundation has a narrow policy focus and Bush just stepped down to explore a presidential bid.
“Who we elect as president in this next election is not nearly as important as what they do. We need somebody outside of D.C. We need someone bold, willing to make big changes,” Jindal told reporters Thursday. The statement shows Jindal is clearly focused on shaping his candidacy around policy rather than personal characteristics. With an expanding portfolio of policy plans, Jindal has established a detailed national policy platform more thorough than many, if not all, of the other potential candidates.
