The Five's Dana Perino warns against 'free college' policy as Oregon lowers high school diploma standards
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: 'The Five' host Dana Perino warned the Biden Administration against pursuing universal free college education, emphasizing the need to prioritize improvements in K-12 schooling.
During her appearance on the evening show, the Fox News host delved into the impact of progressive policies on American students graduating high school without essential skills.
Dana Perino reflects on leniency in US school education
The panel brought up the new update in the high school policy of Oregon State, which notes that students will not be required to demonstrate basic proficiency in reading, writing, or math to graduate until at least 2029, citing harm to students of color.
This ruling has been a controversial move and has faced much backlash as it made a high school diploma acquired in the state of a much lower value as compared to others, according to Oregon Live.
Host Perino shared her comments on this, saying, "Well, it's no longer the soft bigotry of low expectations. It's declared bigotry of low expectations. They just say it out loud."
She then brought up an instance that highlighted the needs and demands of Americans from the state of Virginia.
She said, "Remember Glenn Youngkin, the Governor of Virginia, how did he win his race? The number one applause line that he got was when he went to every town hall and said, 'I will increase standards for math and reading in your schools,' and he won overwhelmingly."
Dana Perino slams Democratic party, says no to free college
The Fox News host also made a comparison of how the red and blue parties are perceived in terms of their dealing with the education system.
"When there is a Republican president, everybody is concerned about how other countries are beating us in literacy and math."
Adding, "But when there's a Democratic President, we just like openly say, 'Actually, Black people, Brown people, you know you're not as good at this and we will take care of this for you'."
Perino then went on to claim, "It robs them of their right to the pursuit of happiness. I think it's a civil rights issue."
She continued, "Here's another thing: do not ever support free college until they fix K-12 education. If you fix K-12 education, you do not need free college."
The host did not expand on her point beyond this.
The discussion wrapped up, and host Jesse Watters concluded with a light-hearted remark, saying, "And, bring back egg and spoon!" This elicited laughter from his fellow co-hosts.