If President-elect Joe Biden is nominating Miguel Cardona to be his education secretary in part to minimize controversy, there鈥檚 some early evidence that he鈥檚 succeeded. But it may not take long before that political equilibrium is disrupted.
Representatives from disparate groups like the American Federation of Teachers, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the school choice advocacy group Center for Education Reform, and Teach Plus expressed optimism about if not outright praise of Cardona, Connecticut鈥檚 schools chief. CCSSO鈥檚 Carissa Moffat Miller, the group鈥檚 CEO, said Cardona has 鈥渄edicated his career to creating a more equitable education system,鈥� while AFT President Randi Weingarten said Cardona鈥檚 record indicated how labor and district leaders could collaborate to help students.
And individuals ranging from the Network for Public Education鈥檚 , a prominent critic of school choice and test-based accountability, to the libertarian Cato Institute鈥檚 , reacted to Tuesday鈥檚 news about Cardona without vocal objections and鈥攊n Ravitch鈥檚 case鈥攕ome satisfaction.
It鈥檚 easy to envision other rumored candidates for the job generating a lot more division and instant controversy in response. To be fair, some teachers indicated Tuesday they would have liked a nominee with more than just a handful of years teaching in the classroom鈥擟ardona became a school principal at 28.
Cardona also has a markedly different background from U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, as well as from higher-profile yet more-divisive individuals that had been rumored to be in contention for the nomination like union leaders and big-city district superintendents.
Indeed, part of what distinguishes Cardona from bigger names in the education field is that he hasn鈥檛 waded into national fights over things like charter schools, accountability, and labor policies that have (fairly or not) defined some of his peers. Disagreements over these contentious policy issues, over which the federal government doesn鈥檛 always exercise a great deal of control, have split both the Democratic Party and education political sphere more broadly in recent years.
So it鈥檚 fair to wonder if a Cardona pick is evidence that, after the tumult of the DeVos/Trump years and controversy during the Obama administration that had the NEA calling on former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan to step down, the Biden team鈥檚 appetite for a prominent, yet controversial nominee, was pretty small.
In addition to being free of political baggage that might have dogged other possible nominees, Cardona can always bring his 鈥減ractitioner and policy experience鈥� to bear in avoiding fundamental criticism about who he is or isn鈥檛, said David DeSchryver, a senior vice president at Whiteboard Advisors, an education research and consulting group.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an encouraging, noncontroversial pick, which suggests that he鈥檒l be a good partner and good steward of federal education policies,鈥� DeSchryver said.
Denise Forte, a senior vice president at the Education Trust and former staffer in the Obama Education Department, said there鈥檚 more to picking Cardona than simply not ruffling feathers, especially during a crisis.
鈥淚t鈥檚 less about lowering the temperature and more about having a credible spokesperson who exemplifies the national leadership we need at this time around students and education,鈥� Forte said.
No Stranger to Controversy
None of that鈥檚 to say Cardona is a blank slate on controversial issues. You can read more about Cardona鈥檚 position on key policy issues here.
He鈥檚 called charter schools but he doesn鈥檛 have a lot of hands-on experience grappling with charters from his time in the Meriden, Conn., school district, or as the state chief. Cardona has using state test scores to evaluate teachers, yet has also said the Smarter Balanced exam as an upgrade over the previous state test.
He also was involved in the 2020 of a long-running in Connecticut over racial imbalance in magnet school admissions. Cardona had been in office only a few months before the resolution of that case, Sheff v. 翱鈥橬别颈濒濒, and more generally hasn鈥檛 been a state chief for very long. Yet his experience with the case and his public work on education equity issues could prove helpful if the Biden administration chooses to prioritize issues like school diversity and integration.
One group Cardona has been affiliated with is , a nonprofit that trains K-12 leaders, where he participated in a fellowship program. New Leaders鈥� CEO, Jean Desravines, said Cardona brings a 鈥渂alanced perspective鈥� to his work, while his background as an English-learner and school principal sends a helpful message to students of color and educators, among others.
鈥淲hen you think about school choice as an example, he鈥檚 agnostic,鈥� Desravines said. 鈥淢iguel cares about kids, kids who attend public schools, and he wants to do everything he can to set those kids up for success. That balanced perspective 鈥� is what he will bring to this role.鈥�
Early Challenges on Policy
DeSchryver did say, however, that Cardona will be tested early in his tenure if he鈥檚 confirmed.
Two tests in particular will sound out Cardona and the Biden administration鈥檚 political dexterity.
The first is what to tell states they must do when it comes to federally mandated assessments and accountability measures in the spring. Many states have already moved to reduce if not eliminate the role of tests in how they measure schools and students, a general approach that could be relatively easy for Cardona to support.
Yet he鈥檒l face divisions among Democrats as to whether he should allow states to simply cancel these tests, allow states to alter them in some fashion, or tell schools to proceed as usual (or as close to usual as they can get). Earlier this month, Connecticut announced that it would this school year.
The second and potentially more challenging issue will be reopening schools.
Cardona made it clear in Connecticut over the past several months that he wants students to get the benefits of going to regular classes wherever and whenever possible. Many schools in the U.S. have held traditional classes this academic year. And Biden has said his goal is for most schools to be back open and offering regular classes of his inauguration. (Some people, of course, might not think that timeline is ambitious enough.)
Yet months of have shown that families of color are less likely to favor a return to in-person school during the pandemic than their white counterparts. In addition, some educators remain wary about the risks posed to themselves and others if they return to classes while the virus still has a significant foothold in their communities; he will also be likely get consistent reminders about those concerns from teachers and other school staff.
Cardona鈥檚 push to reopen schools in Connecticut; one teacher, Nicole Rizzo, responded to the state鈥檚 plan by saying it could cost 200 lives. The controversy and frustration surrounding attempts to during the pandemic, for example, could make any education leader queasy.
Desravines acknowledged that this would be a 鈥渃omplicated issue鈥� for Cardona, but added that Cardona will bring 鈥渁n understanding why parents of color may be hesitant to send their kids鈥� back to school because of how COVID-19 has disproportionately affected them.
But Desravines also said, 鈥淢y sense is that part of the reason he鈥檚 taking that approach [in Connecticut] is the understanding and appreciation for the numerous benefits of being able to attend schools in person. I think he鈥檚 also a skilled administrator and is cognizant of the fact that schools are deeply a local affair. And he will be aware of that as he shares his perspective.鈥�
Cardona could also establish a firm foothold by providing clear messages for schools that rely on public health expertise while not forgetting local K-12 needs, Forte said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what鈥檚 been missing: the lack of consistent and credible guidance,鈥� she added.
One other factor? Cardona could also get the benefit of the doubt that many educators weren鈥檛 willing to afford to his immediate predecessor.
鈥淗e can push, but he鈥檒l defer鈥� to school leaders who have final say in states and districts, DeSchryver said. 鈥淗e鈥檒l get a pass DeVos did not.鈥�
