Seven Candidates, One Issue: Here's What Democratic Presidential Candidates Had to Say About Education

A Pittsburgh forum was among the first major events of the 2020 race to focus on education

In this June 26, 2019, file photo, the stage is set for the first Democratic presidential primary debate for the 2020 election at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Seven Democratic candidates for president on Saturday offered plans to make their mark on American schools, NBC News reports.

Though the vast majority of education decisions in the U.S. are made at the state and local levels, candidates who participated in a public forum sponsored by 11 education groups vowed to increase federal spending in schools — some by enormous amounts — and proposed other ways to make schools more equitable and to support teachers, students and parents.

The six-hour forum at a downtown convention center, moderated by Ali Velshi, host of "MSNBC Live," and Rehema Ellis, an NBC News education correspondent, streamed live on NBC News Now, MSNBC.com and NBC News Learn.

Each candidate spoke for 25 minutes, fielding questions about K-12, early childhood and higher education from the moderators and members of the audience, made up of more than 1,000 students, parents and community members.

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