2024 VoteDelaware Questionnaire Responses: Representative Claire Snyder-Hall

1. A recent independent report commissioned by the State of Delaware found that public schools across the state are underfunded by $600 million dollars and recommended increased per-pupil funding, transparency, and the flexibility to allocate resources. If elected what concrete steps would you propose to take to ensure districts close the funding deficit to provide a constitutionally adequate education?

A strong public education system is essential to a free and flourishing society, and every child regardless of zip code or skin color should receive an excellent K-12 education, as well as having the option of pre-K. As an educator myself who spent twenty years in the classroom, I have seen the way education can transform a young person’s life. 

Delaware has room to grow when it comes to public education. Despite the hard work of many dedicated educators all over the state, our schools face multiple challenges, including a shortage of teachers and other educators, students who need increasing levels of support (particularly in the aftermath of the covid trauma), and inequitable funding that adversely affects disadvantaged students.

We need to evaluate and reform the way schools are funded in Delaware. We need a funding system that minimizes political influence, supports student needs, reduces class sizes, and addresses local wealth disparities. Some students, such as multilingual learners, low-income students, and students with disabilities, require extra supports to maximize their educational experience, and we must make sure our funding formula adequately accounts for the learning needs of all our students.

The current funding system needs reform, and that process is currently underway. Overall, we need to move from a unit-based equality approach to a needs-based equity approach. For example, multilingual learners, students from low-income communities, and those with disabilities require more resources than other students. Thus, we need a student-based weighted funding system, rather than the primarily resource-based unit-count approach of the current system.

I will support efforts to more closely align our per student funding to the recommendations of the American Institutes for Research; a greater reliance on “impact fees,” where developers are held accountable to fund more of the infrastructure necessary to support local growth and development; a weighted funding formula based on dollars instead of positions, in order to provide greater funding transparency; and a funding formula that considers both state and local revenue, generating target funding levels for each district or school in order to balance local capacity.

2. The Education Equity Ombudsperson program was codified into law last year without guaranteed continuing funding to ensure that the program is sustainable.  Will you support legislation to maintain the current annual funding of $1 million to support students statewide facing inequitable treatment? 

YES
Last year, HB 188 codified the Equity Ombudsman program, which strives to provide students and families that encounter inequity in the school system with non-lawyer advocates to assist them. The bill passed unanimously in both chambers and has been signed by the Governor. The bill establishes an important and needed program, and I will fight to make sure it continues to be funded at the current level or higher.

3. There are currently an estimated 5,000 undocumented children in Delaware living without access to basic healthcare services. This past session, the General Assembly failed to pass the “Cover All Children Act” which would have been a critical first step in developing a medical coverage program for children in Delaware who are not otherwise covered, including kids who are undocumented. Will you support legislation like the “Cover All Children Act” that ensures undocumented children are protected and cared for?  

YES
I believe healthcare is a human right. Consequently, everyone should have access to the healthcare they need. Everyone includes all human beings, including those who are undocumented. 

4. Over the past few decades, many immigrants have chosen to make Delaware their home and have become vital members of our communities. Will you support increasing translation and interpretation services in government agency buildings and in public schools to help immigrants navigate the systems we all use? 

YES
People who need to interface with government agencies or the public schools should be assisted if they have language barriers.

5. Currently, agricultural and domestic workers are exempt from state labor protections which means that workers in those fields, many of whom are immigrants and work dangerous jobs, are left with few ways to protect themselves. Will you support the removal of this exemption, so that all workers, regardless of their job, have the same protections? 

YES
All workers should have the same protections, and those who work onerous or dangerous jobs definitely need protections from unhealthy, exploitative, or abusive workplaces.

6. In 2017, Delaware codified the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in state law to ensure the right to an abortion remained protected. However, these protections could be removed through a simple majority vote and signature of the Governor. Will you support a state constitutional amendment to explicitly protect peoples’ access to reproductive healthcare?

YES
Absolutely. Reproductive justice is one of my top concerns, including access to abortion services. We are in good shape in Delaware, but we do need to pass a constitutional amendment to make it harder to turn back the clock.

7. Black maternal mortality rates continue to increase in Delaware, with the gap in healthcare disparities widening. Will you support the creation of a Reproductive Healthcare Equity Fund that would support the additional costs of accessing reproductive healthcare for uninsured or underinsured people and fund the recruitment and expansion of the number of healthcare providers, including doula providers, in the state? 

YES
Healthcare is a human right. I will always support programs that make it more accessible. No one should be denied the healthcare they need due to inability to pay. Reproductive healthcare is healthcare, and doulas are healthcare providers. We definitely need to recruit more healthcare providers of all types, including doulas.

8. Delaware’s probation system is broken. It does not provide the resources and support needed for successful reentry, while allowing for overly harsh punishment for minor infractions. Will you support legislation tailoring probation conditions to the needs and circumstances of the individual and restricting the use of incarceration when no new crime has been committed?  

YES
I believe that we should help people returning to the community after incarceration be successful, so it makes sense to tailor probation conditions to accommodate particular circumstances. And people should not be returned to prison for technical violations.

9. Access to record expungement should not be determined by an individual’s economic circumstances. Will you support legislation removing fines and fees as a barrier to expungement eligibility? 

YES
You said it best: "Access to record expungement should not be determined by an individual’s economic circumstances." Fines and fees very often only keep low-income individuals down.

10. It is well documented that older incarcerated adults are less likely to commit new crimes if released. Will you support legislation that would expand compassionate release for older incarcerated adults? 

YES
People who can no longer be reasonably considered a threat to society do not need to be kept in prison. We should allow compassionate release for older incarcerated adults, but we also need to make sure they have a safe place to land and do not end up sleeping in the woods.

11. The Delaware Supreme Court recently upheld Delaware’s early in-person and permanent absentee voting laws, but the laws remain vulnerable to future legal challenges. Will you support protecting early in-person and permanent absentee voting through a constitutional amendment? 

YES
As the head of Common Cause DE for five years, I worked to protect and expand the freedom to vote. You can count on me to support a constitutional amendment to expand voting rights.

12. As of 2022, felony disenfranchisement affected 7,721 voters in Delaware. 2,965 of these people were disenfranchised while on probation or parole and 1,360 were disenfranchised even though they were not incarcerated or on probation or parole. . Voting allows people to remain connected to their communities and helps facilitate the re-entry process. Will you support a constitutional amendment allowing all people to vote as soon as they leave prison? 

YES
The right to vote should never be taken away as punishment for a crime.

13. Will you support a constitutional amendment allowing for same-day voter registration? 

YES
As the head of Common Cause DE for five years, I worked to protect and expand the freedom to vote. Our organization worked on same-day registration for decades. I would absolutely support such an amendment.

14. Will you support a constitutional amendment allowing for no-excuse absentee voting?

YES
As the head of Common Cause DE for five years, I worked to protect and expand the freedom to vote. Again, we advocated for no-excuse absentee voting for decades, and I would definitely support a constitutional amendment establishing it.