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Is K-12 education poised to catch fire in the policy debates leading up to November鈥檚 presidential election, now less than 100 days away?

Don鈥檛 bet on it.

Based on the dynamics at the just-finished Democratic and Republican conventions鈥攁nd the profiles of the two nominees鈥擪-12 is likely to lag behind other issues in a tumultuous election year dominated by national-security concerns, immigration, and sheer force of personality.

Donald Trump, the Republican standard-bearer, and a succession of other speakers at the GOP convention in Cleveland July 18-21 barely discussed education beyond a few perfunctory nods to school choice.

At the Democrats鈥� convention, where Hillary Clinton accepted the nomination July 28, there were plenty of shout-outs to early-childhood education and college access, along with a trumpeting of her long record on children鈥檚 issues. But she and other Democratic luminaries in Philadelphia mostly bypassed K-12 policy talk, even though the party made some waves over how it handled standardized tests in its platform.

But Jeffrey Henig, a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University, who focuses on education and politics, doesn鈥檛 expect K-12 policy to get much more of the spotlight between now and Nov. 8.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 see education as being all that central to this election,鈥� he said. 鈥淭rump is so mushy on everything. It鈥檚 hard to see how [his presidency] would play out on education. I think Hillary is pretty much in the clear to stake out whatever position on education that she thinks is right and is not going to hurt鈥� with any faction of the Democratic constituency.

Playing It Safe

Clinton鈥檚 play-it-safe strategy so far and Trump鈥檚 almost-complete lack of specifics have left some of the faithful in both parties jittery about how their respective nominees would handle tough education issues in the White House.

Republicans in Cleveland wondered aloud if Trump would really get rid of the U.S. Department of Education, as he鈥檚 hinted he might on the campaign trail鈥攅choing a 1980 position advocated by Ronald Reagan, and long espoused by many in the party. It鈥檚 a prospect that thrilled some and turned off others.

And while most Democrats are likely to be heartened to hear Clinton say she鈥檒l push for more resources for child care, college access, and student supports, a number of those in Philadelphia weren鈥檛 sure just how far she鈥檇 stray from President Barack Obama鈥檚 approach to K-12 on issues such as testing and charter schools.

In her speech accepting the nomination, Clinton, the first American woman to receive a major-party nomination, stuck to broad areas of agreement and outreach within her party. She pledged to work for a country where 鈥測ou can send your kids to a good school, no matter what ZIP you live in,鈥� and to work with her rival for the nomination, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, 鈥渢o make college tuition-free for the middle class and debt-free for all.鈥�

Former President Bill Clinton鈥檚 convention speech earlier in the week highlighted his wife鈥檚 long record as an advocate for children and families, including her early work for the Children鈥檚鈥� Defense Fund and her championship of early education and higher K-12 standards as first lady of Arkansas.

But behind the scenes, the policy fissures among Democrats were clear.

Most of the controversy centered around the party platform, which was crafted with help from Sanders supporters. The platform skewed toward the party鈥檚 progressive wing, which has felt marginalized over the past eight years.

The platform decries test-based accountability systems that 鈥渇alsely and unfairly label students of color, teachers, and schools as failing,鈥� and affirms parents鈥� right to opt their children out of tests.

The National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, both of which endorsed Clinton early on in the race, are delighted with that language.

In fact, Lily Eskelsen Garc铆a, the NEA president, said on a panel in Philadelphia that the union could have written the platform. 鈥淚 think we actually kind of did,鈥� she added.

And Garc铆a said the forces known in shorthand as the education reformers, who successfully pushed for such Obama administration policies as teacher evaluation tied to student test scores, are now out of favor.

鈥淭heir balloon is pffftt,鈥� she said in an interview. 鈥淭he corporate model is crumbling of its own absurdity.鈥�

Not everyone agrees.

Shavar Jeffries, the president of Education Reform Now, a think tank associated with Democrats for Education Reform, admitted that many of his allies are uneasy about the next presidency鈥攅specially since Republicans and teachers鈥� unions teamed up last year to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act, which gives states and districts much more say over K-12 policy.

Long Game

But Jeffries is also looking at the long game.

鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be ups, there鈥檚 going to be downs, there鈥檚 going to be fluctuations,鈥� he said. 鈥淧resident Obama, we believe, produced historic change for children, and any time you鈥檙e transitioning leadership you could obviously continue progress, or there could be regression.鈥�

On the other side of the coin, even the progressive-friendly platform hasn鈥檛 reassured some of Sanders鈥� supporters, who fear that Clinton would keep the status quo.

鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be four or eight years of the same garbage,鈥� said Alexis Salt, a Nevada delegate supporting Sanders, and a teacher at a middle school in Clark County, in an interview early in the convention week. 鈥淢ore corporations getting their money. More charter schools. More choice, and that takes money from public education.鈥�

Meanwhile, Trump gave a quick plug for school choice when he accepted the GOP nomination July 21.

鈥淲e will rescue kids from failing schools by helping their parents send them to a safe school of their choice,鈥� he told a roaring crowd.

Over the course of the Republican National Convention, a smattering of speakers, including Trump鈥檚 vice-presidential pick, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, also praised school choice. But no one offered anything resembling specifics.

鈥淎 lot of the rhetoric is very similar鈥� to the 2012 and 2008 conventions, said Martin West, a Harvard professor who worked on education policy proposals for the two previous GOP presidential nominees, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arizona Sen. John McCain.

鈥淎t any Republican convention, you鈥檙e going to hear a lot about the virtues of school choice and local control. The biggest difference [this time] is that there is little to point to beyond the rhetoric,鈥� West said.

By the time they accepted the GOP nod, however, Romney and McCain had each given at least one major speech on K-12 and put out policy documents outlining a road map for bringing more options to parents, West noted.

Trump, a real estate developer who has never held public office, has no record to look at. And he has yet to lay out a K-12 policy vision. In fact, his campaign website doesn鈥檛 include a section on education.

The Right Direction

Some educators who showed up in Cleveland to nominate Trump readily admitted they didn鈥檛 know where his heart is on K-12 policy.

鈥淭here鈥檚 not a lot of definitive information. He just says he wants to improve education, but that鈥檚 pretty nebulous,鈥� said Carol Hanson, an Iowa delegate and special education teacher from Cedar Falls.

But others say they at least trust Trump to generally steer things in the right direction.

鈥淭he main idea that I support, that Mr. Trump has said, is that education is better handled at the local level,鈥� Molly Spearman, South Carolina鈥檚 state schools chief, said in an interview at the GOP convention.

Some delegates and lawmakers say the choice of Pence as his running mate might offer the most clues to where a Trump administration would go on K-12 policy.

Pence has sought鈥攁nd gotten鈥攎ore resources for charter schools in the Hoosier State and persuaded lawmakers to lift a cap on elementary school vouchers. And in 2014, under Pence, Indiana became the first state, officially at least, to ditch the Common Core State Standards.

Choosing Pence 鈥渨as probably the best choice he could make,鈥� said Hanson, the Iowa delegate.