Seventy-nine percent of respondents picked cutting student debt out of a list of six other education topics as what should be "extremely important" for Congress to tackle. | Seth Wenig, File/AP Photo Education Poll: Americans want Congress to reduce student debt, improve K-12 funding

Americans in a new poll of education priorities say they have a couple of top assignments for the new Congress — slash student debt and boost funding for public schools.

The majority of Americans — both Republicans and Democrats — said "finding ways to lessen student debt" and "increasing spending on K-12 public education" were "extremely important" goals for the Congress in a poll by POLITICO / Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.


Respondents were given a list of six education policy areas and asked which they believe are "extremely important" for Congress to tackle. Seventy-nine percent picked cutting student debt, making it first on the list. Seventy-six percent selected public education funding, putting it second.

Both priorities carried broad bipartisan support in the poll, with 88 percent of those identifying as Democrats and 64 percent of Republicans saying boosting public education funding was "extremely important." Eighty-seven percent of Democrats and 61 percent of Republicans said combating student debt was "extremely important."

There's also broad bipartisan support for more federal spending on school buildings — a boost for Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the chairman of the House education committee, who wants schools included in any infrastructure bill Congress may pass. Increasing federal spending on school buildings landed fourth on the list, with 66 percent of Americans saying it is important.

Morning Education A daily dose of education policy news — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The rest of the list is less bipartisan. Fifty-nine percent of Republicans said Congress needs to pass legislation "to make it easier for students to go to charter schools or private schools," putting it third on their list, while school choice policies didn't even crack Democrats' top priorities.

Seventy-six percent of Democrats, meanwhile, said Congress should increase spending on community colleges, putting it third on their list. That was also third overall, with 66 percent of Americans saying it's extremely important to boost community college funding, though only 49 percent of Republicans said as much.

Most Democrats, 59 percent, meanwhile, want Congress to "increase federal regulation of for-profit colleges and for-profit technical institutes," a priority that didn't make Republicans' list.

