Our current education system is responsible for serving a diverse range of students and preparing them for opportunities in a complex and complicated future. The current challenges we face as a nation make a solid education a fundamental key to success in life, but a range of social issues -- particularly poverty -- make the work of educators more difficult.

In states all across the country, Democratic legislators are at the forefront of a movement to improve schools -- from kindergarten through college.

In Montana, the legislature went into special session in 2007 to create a full-time kindergarten program for every child in the state. This type of initiative helps to prepare the youngest students more thoroughly for success throughout their educations, and those who benefit the most are children with special needs or risks. In Montana, the program went into effect just weeks after the legislation was signed into law.

In Iowa, in 2008, Democratic leaders passed a major education initiative. This legislation will fully fund the teacher quality initiative, pushing educator salaries into the top half of the national average; allocate $4 million for "All Iowa Opportunity Scholarships" for college; provide funding for a quality preschool initiative; and increase community college funding by $10.6 million.

Improvements in education like these create fundamental building blocks for child success. Democratic majorities in state legislatures are invested in building better public schools.