Jill Biden to advocate for debt-free community college as next first lady

Jill Biden, the new first lady and wife of President-elect Joe Biden, is reportedly planning to advocate for a debt-free community college once she moves into the White House in January.

According to a close source who spoke with Yahoo News, Jill Biden plans to make that goal a goal as First Lady, in addition to using it for more than 30 years as an educator to help advance her husband’s educational platform, which includes a proposal to make all public colleges and universities free for students whose families earn less than $ 125,000.

Dr Martha Kanter, who served as Under Secretary for Education in the Obama administration and who has known Jill Biden for over a decade, told Yahoo News that debt-free community college has been a long-standing goal. for the former second lady.

“That’s what she would like to see. We’ve talked about community colleges a lot as unsung heroes, ”Kanter said, adding that Biden has worked“ to really help people understand the value proposition and ROI and why that matters.

Jill Biden has worked as an English teacher at Northern Virginia Community College since 2009 and has indicated that she plans to continue teaching even as first lady.

“If we get to the White House, I will continue to teach,” she said “CBS Sunday Morning” in August. “It’s important, and I want people to value teachers, know their contributions, and elevate the profession.”

In 2015, then president Barack obamaBarack Hussein Obama Presidential Election To Smother Young Voters, Undermine Democracy Black Panther star criticized for sharing video questioning COVID-19 vaccine Black voters: low propensity or low priority? MORE tried to pass a law that would make the first two years of community college free for Americans “ready to work”. The bill ultimately failed, faced with opposition from the GOP in the Senate.

While President-elect Biden could face a similar refusal if Republicans retain control of the Senate after the second round in Georgia in January, the incoming first lady has “an informal but crucial role of advising the president-elect,” a former staff member told Yahoo News.

“She has been a very good sounding board throughout her career,” said the staff member. “She will have a very ambitious portfolio and I am sure she is particularly influential on the education front. She has decades of experience in this field.”

Biden’s transition team did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment on the new first lady’s educational policy plans.

In her time as second lady, Jill Biden hosted the very first White House Summit on Community Colleges, aimed at highlighting the role of community colleges in preparing students for the workforce, as well as Obama’s goal of increasing the number of university graduates.

In 2012, Jill Biden traveled across the country with the Community College to Career Tour to increase partnerships between schools and employers.