He took the common stance that the federal government should finally fully fund IDEA, and then he moved from there to call for a $500 billion permanent public education fund aimed at erasing the equity gaps between poor schools and wealthy ones. O'Rourke's last question at the forum pressed him on the charter versus public school issue, and asked how he would make sure that public school funding went to public schools. Better pay and easier access to the necessary college education could help solve this, but teacher pay is largely beyond the control of the federal government, and O'Rourke isn't suggesting a means of changing that. O'Rourke correctly notes that K-12 education is in need of a demographic shift, an infusion of non-wealthy non-white teachers. A college loan forgiveness program could end up simply helping the wealthier folks aimed for higher education, leaving others still unable to move up.

But you can only have a loan forgiven if you are able to get the loan in the first place, as well as manage the other expenses that go along with college. The benefit of government-funded college is that it would open a path to upward mobility for those who can't afford it. How does that effect your financial status? And do we want people staying in the classroom for years after they want to get out, simply because leaving early would mean financial ruin? If you can't apply to have your loan paid off by the government until you have taught for, say, five years, that makes a long period of living under that debt. In particular, there is the question of how long someone must serve to be eligible. There are other details to be considered. This highlights one of the major problems with a college loan forgiveness program: students who complete college under one administration may find they are petitioning for loan forgiveness to a new administration that doesn't actually want to implement the plan. The law was passed in 2007, but the current administration has been somewhat less than enthusiastic about it, and has rejected roughly nearly every person who has applied it has become such a mess that the American Federation of Teachers this week in federal court sued Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education over mishandling of the program. There is, in fact, a program for partial forgiveness of college loans for teachers and public service workers who meet certain requirements. There are many implications to his policy, and as always, there are devils lurking in the details. That means we forget 100% of your student loan debt if you are willing to dedicate your life to public service.'

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