February 8, 2021
By: Andrew Braun
Last Wednesday, President Joe Biden’s nominee for Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona sat before members of the U.S. Senate for his confirmation hearing. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions asked a number of questions about the Biden administration’s education policy, and what the federal government plans to do for students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cardona is a former elementary school teacher, principal, and superintendent, who was nominated for the position of Education Secretary by President Joe Biden back in December. To hold the position, Cardona must first be approved by a vote of the U.S. Senate.
Most recently, he has served as the Connecticut Commissioner of Education. It was in this position that he held charter schools accountable to their Connecticut state standards, as well as advocated for a state requirement for more diversity in classrooms. Having served as both an administrator and a teacher, Cardona is expected to be a valuable executor of the Biden administration’s education agenda.
Rather notably, Cardona has pushed for the reopening of schools across the nation, citing the prevailing pandemic as an “education emergency.” During his hearing, he asked for much more federal relief money, COVID testing efforts, and vaccinations to go to schools to help get kids back to school. Thus far, many Republican lawmakers have criticized the efforts of teachers unions and those in the Biden administration for some schools not operating completely face-to-face.
Another issue that came up last Wednesday during Cardona’s hearing was that of federally-mandated academic testing during the pandemic. Democrats in both the Senate and House have already voiced their desire to test students this year despite calls from teachers unions to approve states’ requests for waiving the requirement again this year. Cardona neither confirmed nor denied whether he would waive the federal requirement for students to participate in certain academic assessments this year, but did argue both sides of the issue. At one point saying that he was opposed to the “one size fits all” testing for those students not in the classroom due to the pandemic.
Much of Cardona’s policy, however, does not seem to pertain only to the classroom. Expanding the services of schools to tackle student-oriented issues in the community was a major goal of his tenure as Commissioner of Education, one which he hopes to continue fulfilling as Education secretary with the help of other federal agencies.
Additionally, Cardona is appreciated among teachers for his own experience in the classroom. Many teachers are hoping to see out-of-pocket classroom costs and valued school programs covered by more federal funding, which widely diminished in the previous presidential administration.
The Senate’s confirmation of Cardona to his position is currently pending, and has so far accumulated generally bipartisan support.
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