As the proud product of Selma’s public schools and the daughter of lifelong educators, I have made our fight for public education a top national priority. No investment is more fundamental to our future than our investment in our schools, our teachers and our students.

We need to make sure kids get the right start by investing in early education programs. In Alabama’s 7th District, I have fought for local control of Head Start and full funding for our Head Start centers.

In Congress, I have introduced legislation to close tax loopholes used by wealthy donors to turn a profit off donations to private academies. At a time when our public schools and teachers are struggling to come up with the funds they need to run our classrooms, there is no room for tax giveaways that divert taxpayer dollars away from our public schools.

Alabama’s 7th District is also home to some of the most prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the country. These historic institutions are a modern-day pipeline for minority leaders in the public and private sectors. As Vice Chair of the bipartisan HBCU Caucus, I have fought tirelessly for funding to strengthen and preserve our HBCUs.