Needed: more school choice, deductions for student loans

As a doctor and father of three sons between ages 17 and 23, I know and appreciate firsthand both the value and cost of education. Education not only provides a sense of accomplishment and self-worth, but also opens doors to the future.

Finding a job post-education is the most important thing students need. Unfortunately, policies coming out of Washington in recent years have been holding back employers and making it harder for young people to find a job and more experienced workers to keep their jobs.

Our broken tax code, increased regulations and mandates on businesses such as Obamacare, and restricted access to business capital because of new financial regulations are choking businesses here and costing jobs that new graduates and others would love to have. I have been a leader in trying to roll back those harmful policies and will continue to do so every day that I have the privilege of serving the people of Kentucky.

We must ensure that Kentucky’s students get the best education possible. As in sports and business, competition causes everyone to increase their performance. We need more competition in education, not less. We must modernize Kentucky law to give parents and students greater choice in education. And federal policies need to stop disadvantaging families who seek better education for their children. That is why I have supported legislation allowing federal education dollars to follow the student to the school of their choice rather than the school of the government’s choice.

Traditional public schools will remain a primary education option and can provide a great education. Competition will help them improve, but they also need to be freed to innovate. Using modern video technologies, students in even the smallest school districts and most rural parts of Kentucky could have access to the country’s best experts and teachers, who could supplement the local teachers. Parents and local school officials know best what is needed and should be empowered to adopt innovations to meet the needs of their students.

But once again, Washington gets in the way through the mandates of No Child Left Behind. I have voted to give Kentucky schools more freedom, but Congress still needs to go further in empowering parents, states, and local schools to innovate and tailor the education experience for the needs of their students.

In addition to the challenge of finding a job in today’s economy, college graduates often face the financial burden of paying for their degree. For students about to graduate from high school, competition and choice could significantly lower the cost of their education, leading in turn to less of a student loan burden.

Community colleges, technical schools and private colleges may be the right option for many students, and by not incurring debt in the first place, those students will have less to repay when they do graduate. Once again, however, Washington is making the situation worse by targeting private colleges and schools, such as St. Catharine College, leading to their closure and removing options for students.

Pursuing education is an investment in the student’s future, and just as businesses are able to deduct the cost of their investments from taxes, students and graduates should too. I have a plan to allow the full cost of school to be deducted instead of just the interest on a student loan. Because recent graduates may not have enough income to fully deduct their costs, my bill allows the deductions to carry forward to future years, ensuring the full cost can be deducted.

My plan would make paying for school significantly more affordable for students and their families.

This story was originally published October 28, 2016 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Needed: more school choice, deductions for student loans."