Sherrod Brown's Commitment to Education: A Legacy of Advocacy for Ohio Students and Educators
Sherrod Brown, a prominent figure in Ohio politics, has consistently demonstrated a deep commitment to public education throughout his career. His dedication is evident in his legislative efforts, advocacy, and unwavering support for students, educators, and working families across the state.
A Family Tradition of Education
Coming from a family of educators, Brown's dedication to education is deeply rooted. His daughter, Liz Brown, CEO of YWCA Columbus, has witnessed firsthand her father's lifelong commitment to Ohio's schools, workers, and families. Liz Brown herself carries on this family mission through her work in non-profits, government, and public policymaking.
Championing Educators and Public Education
Senator Brown has consistently championed public education and educators throughout his time in Washington. The Ohio Education Association (OEA) enthusiastically recommends Senator Sherrod Brown for re-election to continue his pro-public education, pro-labor work in the US Senate.
Key Legislative Achievements and Priorities
Throughout his career, Sen. Brown has championed public education and fought for the dignity of workers and a brighter future for all. Among his many priorities, Sen. Brown has:
Protecting Retirement Security for Educators
Brown has fought to make sure Ohio educators can retire with dignity by passing the Social Security Fairness Act which would ensure teachers, first responders, and other public sector workers and their families receive the full Social Security benefits they’ve earned. Time and time again, Social Security has been attacked by Republicans who have tried to raise the retirement age and privatize the program. These misguided efforts would enrich Wall Street by risking Americans’ savings in the stock market. Sherrod’s position on these attacks is simple: no way.
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Expanding Access to High-Speed Internet
He has secured millions to expand high-speed internet access for students and families across Ohio.
Reducing the Financial Burden on Educators
Brown introduced the Educators Expense Deduction Modernization Act to quadruple the amount educators can deduct from their taxes for out-of-pocket classroom expenses.
Supporting Homeownership for Educators
Brown has led the fight to help educators become homeowners so education can remain a sustainable career path that can attract the best talent to serve our state’s students. He has also fought for affordable housing for educators.
Implementing Wraparound Services for Student Success
He introduced the Full-Service Community School Expansion Act to help students succeed by helping schools and districts implement wraparound supports - including medical, mental, and nutrition health services, mentoring and youth development programs, technical assistance and continuing education courses.
Reducing Excessive Testing
Brown spearheaded the passage of the SMART Act to reduce excessive testing that robs students and teachers of valuable instruction time.
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Investing in Educator Training
He secured nearly $300,000 to support training programs that prepare Ohio educators to teach life skills.
Protecting Workers' Rights and Expanding Opportunities
Brown has worked to level the playing field between workers and corporations to protect the right to organize and expand overtime pay for workers.
Ensuring Accountability for Charter Schools
He has taken on Ohio’s private for-profit schools that take funds away from public schools and fought for charter school accountability. Sherrod’s record is proof of his commitment to Ohio students. He’s consistently voted to protect and expand Head Start and Early Head Start programs, spearheaded efforts for extra funding and staffing for Full-Service Community Schools, and defended federal funding for Ohio schools. He believes they should be pathways to opportunity for all students. Oversight, transparency, and accountability are Sherrod’s focus for charter schools. When Sherrod called for additional oversight of Ohio’s charter schools, the Department of Education listened and announced it would only fund high-performing charter schools.
The Full-Service Community School Expansion Act
The Full-Service Community School Expansion Act of 2020 demonstrates Brown's commitment to addressing the holistic needs of students and their communities. This legislation aims to:
- Invest \$3.65 billion over the next five years to plan, implement, expand, and support full-service community schools serving low-income students.
- Provide renewable grant opportunities and additional resources to existing community schools to build collaborative leadership structures and strengthen wraparound services that support the needs of students, families, and neighborhoods.
- Build out community school infrastructure by funding the establishment of state-level teams that provide professional development opportunities and resources for community school staff, work with schools and local educational agencies (LEAs) to develop and implement restorative justice principles, and collaborate with LEAs on integrating supports for community schools.
- Set aside up to 5% of funds for technical assistance and support to leverage federal, state, and local resources that address healthcare and early childhood education, connect LEAs with other statewide institutions, and inform LEAs of funding opportunities.
The Coalition for Community Schools, including dozens of national, state, and local partners, supports the Full-Service Community Schools Expansion Act of 2020. They worked with Senators Brown, Van Hollen, and Gillibrand, and community school leaders across the country to shape legislation that reflects the current best practices of community schools and to be bold in an appropriations level that recognizes the high need and demand across the country for this evidence-based strategy.
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The National Education Association commends Senators Sherrod Brown, Chris Van Hollen and Kirsten Gillibrand for their leadership in introducing the Full-Service Community Schools Expansion Act of 2020, which would improve and increase the federal investment in the community schools program. They understand and share in the vision that every student must be prepared to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world, and this federal legislation helps put students on that path.
Supporting Students with Disabilities
Sherrod respects the unique experiences of people with disabilities and works in the Senate to make sure every Ohioan has access to the care and resources they need. He has pushed to break down barriers to information and communications technologies for people with disabilities. Sherrod voted for the bipartisan Workforce Innovation And Opportunity Act, which created job training programs for Ohioans of all abilities. Throughout his career, Sherrod has worked to make sure every Ohioan, regardless of income, can get the healthcare they need. He helped pass the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which has extended healthcare coverage for 5 million Ohioans with preexisting conditions and expanded access to community-based care and habilitative and rehabilitative services like occupational therapy and speech pathology. No one has fought harder than Sherrod to protect the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which serves nearly half of Ohio’s children with disabilities. Sherrod has worked for years to pass long-term funding for CHIP. In addition to his relentless fight for CHIP, Sherrod is a strong supporter of policies to fund training for pediatricians and pediatric specialists.
Addressing the Opioid Crisis and Its Impact on Communities
Recognizing the far-reaching consequences of the opioid crisis, Brown has been a vocal advocate for providing communities with the necessary resources to combat addiction. He supported Governor Kasich’s decision to expand Medicaid, which funds treatment for more than 150,000 Ohioans, and worked with Portman on legislation to grant more Ohioans access to healthcare professionals and facilities. Sherrod is working hard to make sure Ohio’s communities have the funding necessary to adequately address the opioid crisis. He supports a number of proposals, including the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act and the 21st Century Cures Act, that would give local communities the aid they need to effectively fight this epidemic. Sherrod was also a vocal opponent of the administration’s 2018 budget proposal, which called for slashing hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to programs Ohio counts on to combat opioid addiction. And when the White House dragged its feet in declaring the crisis a national emergency, Sherrod held the Administration accountable for their inaction - and applauded them when they finally heeded his call. Sherrod believes that community engagement is crucial to this fight. By holding roundtable discussions with Ohio law enforcement, healthcare professionals, and those affected by the opioid crisis, Sherrod works with community leaders to help raise local awareness and understanding of the epidemic.
Commitment to Rural Communities
Sherrod understands the importance of Ohio’s farming communities-one in seven Ohio jobs depend on agriculture and more than half of Ohio’s land is used for farming. He travels across Ohio to hear directly from farmers and local stakeholders to effectively advocate for them in the Senate. He’s secured a number of legislative victories for Ohio farmers across multiple Farm Bills, including his approach to farm risk management, which Reuters called the “centerpiece” of the 2014 Farm Bill. Sherrod supports the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and has fought against repeal efforts that would hit rural communities hard. Sherrod continues to fight to give Ohio’s rural communities every possible tool and resource to fight the devastating opioid epidemic. He opposes the administration’s efforts to gut critical opioid and substance abuse programs, and has pressed the White House to give communities the necessary resources to combat this crisis.
Standing with Consumers and Patients
Sherrod has always stood with consumers and patients in the fight for fair prescription drug prices. With the cost of prescription drugs on the rise, Sherrod has championed proposals to allow Medicare to directly negotiate prices and increase competition through generic alternatives.
Supporting Educators' Rights and Well-being
Ohio educators know that Sherrod has their backs. When Senate Bill 5 threatened to take away educators’ collective bargaining rights, Sherrod stood with teachers, firefighters, police officers, and organized labor to successfully overturn Ohio’s so-called “right-to-work” law. Sherrod has worked with teachers to make sure they’re paid the salaries and benefits they deserve.
Addressing School Infrastructure Needs
The discussion over infrastructure often ignores the declining state of our schools. Sherrod has introduced legislation that would repair, renovate, and build schools in Ohio and across the country, which would create almost two million jobs.
Promoting Safe and Inclusive Schools
No student should feel unsafe or unwelcome in their school. Sherrod is working to end bullying in the classroom and on the schoolyard. He has repeatedly co-sponsored the Safe Schools Improvement Act, which would require schools to adopt codes of conduct that prohibit bullying based on race, gender, ability, or nationality. Sherrod recognizes that some students are more vulnerable to bullying and discrimination than others. Sherrod has worked to raise awareness of and bring an end to the all-too-common bullying and discrimination that LGBTQ youth face. In 2014, he participated in the National Day of Silence. In 2010 Sherrod joined the “It Gets Better Project” by giving a speech on the Senate floor in memory of LGBTQ teens driven to suicide by bullying, and in 2011 he participated in a video with his colleagues in support of LGBTQ students and youth.
Supporting Small Businesses and Economic Growth
Sherrod knows that for small business owners, expanding and investing in employees is non-negotiable. Sherrod has supported legislation that allows small businesses to stay competitive by writing off R&D costs and investments in business equipment and software. Sherrod recognizes that small businesses don’t have the time or resources to spend making sense of byzantine paperwork. Sherrod has worked with members of both parties to expand financing opportunities for small and mid-sized manufacturers, and to reward small businesses that hire more employees and invest in job training and retraining. Sherrod has worked to create business incubators and innovation hubs around the country to ensure that the America remains a leader in high-tech manufacturing.
Protecting Seniors and Retirement Security
Sherrod believes seniors should have access to quality, affordable healthcare. He has worked throughout his career to protect and expand Medicare, helping beat back multiple assaults on this essential program and advocating to lower the eligibility age to 55.
Championing Equality and LGBTQ+ Rights
It has been his honor to stand alongside you, fighting to make sure that every Ohioan is treated equally under the law and given the respect they deserve. He opposed the Defense Of Marriage Act in the 1990s and has consistently fought against legislative efforts to deny LGBTQ Americans the right to marry whomever they love. Any American who honorably serves our country in uniform should be treated like a patriot. Since the beginning of his career, Sherrod opposed the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which he helped repeal in 2010. When President Trump pushed to ban transgender individuals from the armed services, Sherrod responded forcefully, saying, “I have deep respect and gratitude for anyone who volunteers to serve in our military. While we have made progress toward equality, it is legal in many states to discriminate against someone based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Addressing Student Debt and Higher Education
An entire generation is drowning in student debt, and Sherrod is committed to getting them relief. He has championed efforts to protect students from predatory student loan providers, called for stronger protections against unfair and abusive lending practices, and backed legislation to allow students and their families to refinance their existing student loan debt. Making college more accessible to veterans and servicemembers is also a top priority for Sherrod. Sherrod is proud of Ohio’s higher education system. He consistently works to ensure that our colleges and universities have the resources necessary to continue offering field-leading educational opportunities. Every Ohioan deserves the opportunity to study at a world-class in-state institution. With Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos making it harder for Ohioans to get a college education, Sherrod is standing with students, educators, and families to fight for accessible, quality higher education.
Protecting Ohio's Environment
Sherrod is a leader in defending Ohio’s lakes and waterways. Sherrod knows the devastating effect algal blooms have on lakeshore communities. He has fought for more funding and pushed for more research to better understand their causes and consequences, to help develop new solutions.
A Consistent Advocate for Ohio
Sherrod Brown's career reflects a deep-seated commitment to the well-being of Ohioans, with education serving as a cornerstone of his policy agenda. From supporting educators and students to addressing critical issues facing communities across the state, Brown has consistently championed policies aimed at creating a brighter future for all Ohioans.
Political Career and Stances
Sherrod Campbell Brown was born in Mansfield, Ohio, on November 9, 1952. He served as a state representative in Ohio from 1974 to 1982. In 1982 Brown ran for Ohio secretary of state to succeed Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. In 1992, Brown moved from Mansfield to Lorain, Ohio, and won a heavily contested Democratic primary for the open seat for Ohio's 13th district, in the western and southern suburbs of Cleveland, after eight-term incumbent Don Pease announced his retirement. In 2005, Brown led the Democratic effort to block the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). In August 2005, Brown announced he would not run for the United States Senate seat held by two-term Republican incumbent Mike DeWine, but in October he reconsidered his decision. In the May primary Brown won 78.05% of the Democratic vote. In April 2006, Brown, along with John Conyers, brought an action against George W. Bush and others, alleging violations of the Constitution in the passage of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005.
Brown ran for reelection in 2012, facing opponent Josh Mandel, who in 2010 defeated the incumbent state treasurer by 14 points. On November 6, 2012, Brown held his seat, winning 50.7% of the vote to Mandel's 44.7%. In 2024, Brown ran unopposed in the Democratic primary and in the general election faced the Republican nominee, businessman Bernie Moreno. Brown lost by 206,434 votes and earned 46.5% of the vote, to Moreno's 50.1%. Since his defeat in the 2024 United States Senate election in Ohio and the end of his tenure as Senator, Brown has returned to civilian life. In January 2025, Harvard Kennedy School announced that Brown would be a Spring 2025 Visiting Fellow, and in March 2025, he launched the Dignity of Work Institute.
He was vetted as a potential vice-presidential running mate for Clinton. Brown introduced the Charter School Accountability Act of 2015. In the wake of the Flint water crisis, Brown announced plans to introduce legislation to force the federal government to step in when cities and states fail to warn residents about lead-contaminated drinking water. Brown discusses lowering prescription drug prices for people on Medicare. Brown co-sponsored the single-payer Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act in 2006. Brown was one of six Democratic senators to introduce the American Miners Act of 2019, a bill to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 to swap funds in excess of the amount needed to meet existing obligations under the Abandoned Mine Land fund to the 1974 Pension Plan as part of an effort to prevent its insolvency as a result of coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis.
Brown became the chair of the Banking Subcommittee on Economic Policy in 2021, after having been its ranking Democratic member since 2015. Brown has criticized free trade with China and other countries. Brown opposes NAFTA, which he argues should be renegotiated to aid Ohio workers. He supported President Trump's decision in 2018 to impose tariffs on washing machine imports. He supported his first trade agreement in 2019, having never previously supported one in Congress. and the Russian Federation obliging both countries to have no more than 1,550 strategic warheads and 700 launchers deployed during the next seven years, and providing for a continuation of on-site inspections that halted when START I expired the previous year. support for Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen in 2017, saying, "It's becoming increasingly clear that Saudi Arabia has been deliberately targeting civilian targets.
Brown was one of ten senators to cosponsor the Safe Freight Act in 2019, a bill requiring freight trains to have on board one or more certified conductors and a certified engineer who can collaborate on protecting the train and people living near the tracks. Brown was one of 67 members of Congress who voted against the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act. In 2015, he co-sponsored a bill that would restrict ISIS's financing by authorizing new sanctions on foreign financial institutions that knowingly facilitate financial transactions with ISIS. on certain types of visas.
Personal Life
Brown was married to Larke Recchie from 1979 to 1987, and they had two children. During their divorce proceedings, Recchie obtained a restraining order against Brown to keep him from harassing or annoying her and from "doing bodily harm". Recchie and Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist Connie Schultz later became friends and filmed an ad together for Brown's 2006 Senate campaign. Recchie hosted a fund-raising event for Brown's 2012 reelection campaign against Republican Josh Mandel and issued a statement saying, "I understand that in campaigns you often have to go after your opponent, but Josh Mandel should know better than to go after our family. I ask that he immediately put a stop to this kind of politics. I was proud to support Sherrod in 2006 and I'm proud to support him again this time around against Josh Mandel. In 2007, Brown was awarded an honorary doctorate from Capital University. He was awarded an honorary doctor of public service degree from Otterbein University in 2014. In June 2023, NBC News reported that Brown had been late paying his Cleveland property tax bill seven times, most recently in February, and that for years he claimed owner-occupant tax credits on properties in two different Ohio counties. Brown subsequently paid the delinquent tax bill and repaid Franklin County for the tax credit.
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