President Joe Biden called for gun control, teacher pay raises, more funding for students with disabilities, and preschool expansions during an event to honor the 2023 State Teachers of the Year at the White House鈥檚 Rose Garden on Monday, April 24.
鈥淭eaching should not be a life-threatening profession,鈥� he said to the crowd of educators. 鈥淎nd educators should not need to be armed to feel safe in the classroom.鈥�
The president used the event as an opportunity to showcase his education agenda ahead of his anticipated run for re-election, which he is expected to formally announce this week.
Alongside First Lady Jill Biden, U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, and 2023 National Teacher of the Year Rebecka Peterson, Biden applauded teachers for navigating a challenging educational environment and thanking them for their hard work.
鈥淲e ask so much of you, and each and every time you all step up and say, 鈥榶es,鈥欌�� Biden said. 鈥淭he impact you have on our students is profound.鈥�
Teachers use opportunity to advocate for changes
An emphasis on respect for and the power of the teaching profession guided the tone of the event on Monday.
Peterson, who teaches high school math in Tulsa, Okla., said teachers 鈥渁re fueled by the equalizing power of public education to dismantle marginalization, eliminate systemic inequities, and end generational poverty.鈥�
鈥淚 teach because it gives me life to offer the American dream to the next generation,鈥� she said. 鈥淭eachers, you hold our democracy.鈥�
Biden specifically recognized Peterson during his remarks, joking about he wouldn鈥檛 be able to teach calculus as she does.
鈥淥h, God, do I remember calculus,鈥� he said, making the Catholic sign of the cross. 鈥淕od bless the calculus teachers, and that is no joke.鈥�
Teachers at the event said they鈥檇 like to see raises in teacher pay to make up for high costs of living, and the increasing demands of the profession.
Schools are 鈥渓osing teachers because we can鈥檛 afford to stay in the area鈥� where they teach, Catherine Matthews, the Montana State Teacher of the Year, said in an interview after the event.
Matthews teaches special education and early childhood education at Hyalite Elementary School in Bozeman, Mont., and said she鈥檇 like to see more support for universal preschool.
Other teachers want to see more support for LGBTQ students and an end to gun violence.
鈥淔rom my students, I promised them that if I talked to anybody today that was important I would say trans rights,鈥� Danielle Charbonneau, the Massachusetts teacher of the year, who teaches English language arts at Martha鈥檚 Vineyard Regional High School, said in an interview after the event.
Charbonneau teaches in an alternative program embedded in the Martha鈥檚 Vineyard high school. She鈥檇 like to see policymakers figure out ways to design alternative settings so 鈥渢hey aren鈥檛 always pushed aside or isolated from the regular community.鈥�
The teachers said Monday鈥檚 ceremony served as a boost of confidence for the profession, noting they feel happy to have multiple educators in the White House with Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, who teaches at Georgetown University.
鈥淚鈥檓 so inspired that people are so grateful for the work that we do,鈥� said Konelio Cornelius Sagiao Alofaituli, the American Samoa teacher of the year who teaches social studies at Manu鈥檃 High School, in an interview after the event. 鈥淭he validation is just incredible.鈥�
Biden showcases education agenda
The president鈥檚 speech was his first major address this year focused on education. He made school safety, specifically gun control, a primary focus.
鈥淲e passed the most significant gun safety legislation in 30 years because educators now find themselves on the front lines, and gun violence is a real problem,鈥� the president said, referencing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which passed last year following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed. 鈥淲e want to do more, and I continue to call on Congress for common sense gun safety laws to protect kids and our teachers.鈥�
That stance received applause from the educators in attendance. Since the start of 2023 there have been 14 school shootings, according to 91直播鈥檚 school shooting tracker.
鈥淟et鈥檚 end the guns now,鈥� Charbonneau said.
Biden also criticized books bans that have been happening in districts across the country and a House Republican 2024 budget proposal that would keep funding at 2022 levels, effectively cutting funding.
鈥淚 never thought I鈥檇 be a president who is fighting against elected officials trying to ban and banning books,鈥� Biden said. 鈥淓mpty shelves don鈥檛 help kids learn very much.鈥�
Biden鈥檚 comments on the House Republican budget proposal came in response to to raise the debt ceiling ahead of a summer expiration of the nation鈥檚 borrowing authority.
projects that keeping education funding at 2022 levels endangers the positions of 108,000 teachers, aides, and other school staff.
鈥淐utting education funding is the last thing this country needs,鈥� Biden said.
Instead, Biden said he鈥檇 like to expand funding for students with disabilities. The president鈥檚 2024 budget proposal includes a $1.2 billion increase for funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act鈥攖he federal special education law鈥攚hich Congress has never fully funded. Biden鈥檚 budget still wouldn鈥檛 realize that funding level originally promised in 1975.
The president also called for support for LGBTQ students, as Republican-led legislatures across the country have passed bans on the participation of transgender student athletes on teams consistent with their gender identity.
He highlighted the administration鈥檚 recent proposed changes to Title IX that would explicitly protect students from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and prevent schools from enacting categorical bans on transgender students from playing sports consistent with their gender identity.
Jill Biden pushed against a narrative that teachers and parents are at odds with each other. Earlier this year, House Republicans accused schools of 鈥渟tonewalling鈥� parents and passed the national Parents鈥� Bill of Rights that would codify in federal law parental rights to review school curriculum, be heard by school boards, and examine school budgets.
鈥淟ately, when I turn on the TV, I see pundits and politicians talking about our profession,鈥� said Jill Biden, who is a community college professor. 鈥淚 hear them attacking our public schools, distorting the truth about what we do, and saying that parents and teachers are at odds, but that鈥檚 not what I鈥檝e seen.鈥�
President Biden said he still feels optimistic about America鈥檚 future, in large part because of teachers.
鈥淕od bless our nation鈥檚 teachers,鈥� he said.
