NEW ORLEANS — Hours after announcing his exploratory committee for president, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal showed that education will be a cornerstone of his likely campaign in a speech Monday to the American Federation for Children National Policy Summit.
“One of the most important, lasting legacies I will leave [as Governor of Louisiana], will be the reforms we’ve implemented in K-12 education, specifically school choice,” Jindal said. “There are many reasons we should care about this. In America we like to believe, we like to say that we have equality of opportunity in education … but it’s not true. It’s not true in too many cities and too many states.”
Jindal wasn’t originally scheduled to speak at the Summit, but his office reached out to organizers, according to Matt Frendewey, the American Federation for Children’s National Communications Director. Organizers happily obliged, and were treated to a special speech from Jindal where he gave in-depth thank you’s for the hard work multiple board members and all of those in attendance have done for education reform.
It’s telling that Jindal went out of his way to address school choice advocates the same day he announced presidential exploratory committee. Everyone in the audience already supports school choice. He clearly wants education reformers’ support when he launches his campaign. Jindal made clear he doesn’t think his support for school choice will hurt his campaign.
“[As Republicans] we should be all in on school choice,” Jindal said. “It is good substantive policy. It is also, I think, good politics, in that it shows folks that we actually do care that everybody’s child participates in the American Dream.
The main parts of Jindal’s speech were well-practiced, and it was clear some themes could easily become talking points for presidential campaign speeches.
“This shouldn’t be a Republican or Democratic issue, this should be an American issue,” Jindal said. “This has to be about the children, not the adults, in the classrooms and the schools.” He shied away from arguing the facts and figures of school choice, but instead called it a “moral imperative,” since school choice helps create equality of opportunity.
He also focused on the personal stories of families that have benefited from Louisiana’s reforms.
“You hear things from moms like, ‘This is the first time my child has brought home homework.’ ‘This is the first time my child is wearing a uniform.’ ‘This is the first time my child feels safe going to school.’ ‘This is the first time my child is thinking about continuing with school and maybe going to college.’ ‘This is the first time there were supplies in bathrooms and the classrooms.’ These are basic things we all take for granted.”
Can school choice advocates give Jindal the support he needs to become a top-tier candidate? That remains to be seen, but Jindal clearly wants to ensure he has the full support of the school choice voting bloc.
Likely candidate Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wisc., also spoke to the Summit and touted his educational record, but school choice has not been the main pillar of Walker’s message while he readies a campaign. Former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fla., has an education record that rivals Jindal’s, but his support for Common Core might give him reason to pause before trying to become the education reform candidate.
Most Republicans in the 2016 field will support school choice. But Jindal seems to be the one most determined to make it the centerpiece issue and become the school choice candidate of the Republican primary.
