Senator Hagan, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, believes that a quality education is central to individual economic opportunity and sustained American prosperity. To compete in a global economy, our students must receive an education that will prepare them for the challenges that lie ahead of them. At all levels, she believes in the fundamental partnership between educators, parents, and students to nurture talent and promote achievement. Currently, our elementary and secondary education systems produce too many students who struggle in key subjects such as science and math, and too few who graduate from high school. To combat these worrying trends, Senator Hagan supports comprehensive education reform that will turn around our lowest performing schools, close the achievement gap and drastically reduce the dropout rate.

Throughout her career in public service, Senator Hagan has been an advocate for financial literacy. As a member of the Senate HELP Committee, she is working to include her first piece of legislation, the Financial Literacy for Students Act, into education reform. The bill builds on her work in the State Senate by incentivizing states to incorporate financial literacy into student curriculums for grades 6-12.

With regard to higher education, Senator Hagan believes that access to affordable post-secondary education - whether a two-year associate's degree, a professional or vocational apprenticeship, or a 4-year bachelor's program - is essential to ensuring that the next generation of American workers and entrepreneurs are prepared to succeed in the 21st-century global marketplace. Now more than ever, the nation must provide our students with the skills and expertise necessary to participate meaningfully in emerging markets and industries. In the U.S. Senate, Senator Hagan has focused on making college more affordable and accessible by supporting an increase in the federal Pell grant program, which provides low-income students with grant money to attend college. She also recognizes the important role that Historically Black Colleges and Universities play in North Carolina and across the country and was proud to support a significant investment in these schools.

Senator Hagan also believes that for students to achieve their academic potential, they must feel safe and free from bullying and harassment in school. As a cosponsor of the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Nondiscrimination Act, she strongly supports efforts in Congress to promote a safe school environment and prevent students from being discriminated against due to their race, color, sex, religion, disability, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity.