Biden expected to appoint Miguel Cardona as education secretary

Connecticut education commissioner would be third Latino cabinet member in president-elect’s administration

Joe Biden is expected to announce Connecticut’s education chief Miguel Cardona as his pick for secretary of education, his third Latino cabinet member in his proposed administration.

The president-elect has committed to reopening US schools within his first 100 days in office following his inauguration on 20 January; Mr Cardona – as Connecticut’s education commissioner – has pushed for in-person instruction following closures and limited teaching environments during the coronavirus pandemic.

With support from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Mr Cardona would follow Donald Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos, among one of the longest-serving cabinet members in the president’s administration, which has been criticised for its hostility towards public schools and its suspension of civil rights protections for students.

Mr Biden has pledged to replace Ms DeVos with a “teacher” in sharp contrast to billionaire Ms DeVos – Mr Cardona began his career as a fourth-grade teacher and has two decades of public school experience. His two children attend public school.

“She has done so much damage in the past four years,’' Senator Richard Blumenthal told Connecticut’s Hartford Courant when discussing Ms DeVos earlier this month. “Miguel Cardona’s heart and soul are in public education. ... He’s a real professional but he’s passionate and he would serve the country well.”

He was tapped to lead Connecticut’s school systems last year, after serving as an assistant superintendent in a small school district in the state serving only 9,000 students.

Leslie Fenwick, former dean of Howard University’s School of Education, also was a reported contender for the role in Mr Biden’s administration. The president-elect’s transition team is reportedly set to announce a decision before the end of 2020.

If selected, Mr Cardona will play a crucial role in correcting education inequities that Mr Biden’s platform has sought to address, including proposals to increase federal funding by the billions – after Mr Trump slashed the federal education budget and relied on billions of dollars in tax credits to pay for subsidised tuition to for-profit private schools, undermining public schools competing for the same pool.

Mr Cardona has highlighted equity issues while serving as Connecticut’s education chief, stressing how the public health crisis has underscored inequities among students without in-person instruction.

He also will be instrumental over efforts to cancel student debt, after increasing demands among Democrats for Mr Biden to use an executive order to immediately erase thousands of dollars in federally held debt. Borrowers owe more than $1.6tn in student debt to pay for higher-education tuition costs, not counting money borrowed by parents of students.

Mr Biden said he supports relieving up to $10,000 in student debt through legislative means, but a growing body of Democratic lawmakers and advocacy groups have pressured him to issue an executive order directing the Education Secretary, with the Treasury Department, to cancel at least $50,000 in debts.