Adriano Espaillat is poised to take over Charles Rangel’s House seat. Here’s what he’s promising on education

In a hotly contested primary over Rep. Charles Rangel’s congressional seat, state Sen. Adriano Espaillat came out on top last week and is all but guaranteed to represent Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx come January.

Espaillat, who would be the first Dominican-American elected to Congress, campaigned on issues like affordable housing and gun control, but he also released an education platform shortly before the primary. It broadly outlines support for several of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s key initiatives. Here’s what he says he’ll do:

• Increase federal funding for dual language programs. Just 154 of the city’s 1,600 traditional public schools are offering dual-language programs, though the city has announced plans to open more of them.

• Expand access to AP courses through the federal Advanced Placement Incentive Program grant. Last school year, 100 high schools still lacked AP courses, though Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised that 75 percent of students will be offered at least five AP classes by the fall of 2018 and all high schools will have that many by 2021.

• Boost Title I funding so after-school programs can run until 6 p.m. Expanding access to after-school is also on the city’s agenda; last year, the Department of Education added tens of thousands of seats.

“Every parent who wants to send their child to a dual-language program should have that option, every student who is capable should be able to enroll in AP courses, and to prepare all of our children for the jobs of the future, they need to receive a dedicated national curriculum on technology,” Espaillat said in a statement.

You can find more details about his education platform here.

This article was first published on Chalkbeat New York on July 1.