We caught up here with U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, who is attending the Republican National Convention.
Alexander鈥攚ho supported Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida in the GOP primary鈥攃hatted about presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump; Trump鈥檚 rival, Hillary Clinton, and, of course, the Every Student Succeeds Act, of which he was a key architect.
The highpoints? Alexander thinks a President Trump would favor local control of schools and have a light regulatory touch. And, while it鈥檚 no secret that the education committee chairman thinks the Obama administration is going too far in regulating on ESSA, he is 鈥渉opeful鈥� that a Clinton Education Department wouldn鈥檛 follow suit, in part because some of her supporters (namely, teachers鈥� unions) don鈥檛 want her too.
Here鈥檚 a recap of our conversation, edited for brevity and clarity:
Alexander and Politics K-12 have. And Alexander鈥檚 said he wasn鈥檛 really sure where Trump鈥檚 heart was on the issue. Does Alexander have a better sense now?
In a word, yes, he said he does. Alexander told me he had spoken with Trump about the issue, including when he met with GOP senators a few weeks ago.
Alexander told the presumptive GOP nominee that, 鈥渕y hope is that if you鈥檙e elected you will enforce the new education law the way we wrote it, which is to transfer responsibility for accountability out of Washington back to the states. And [Trump] agreed with that. He said he was very much for local control. So I鈥檓 convinced he will.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, Alexander said Trump 鈥渦nderstands the explosion of regulations across the board in Washington, D.C., is a massive issue, bigger he said than taxes. And I agree with him on that. The jungle of red tape that smothers a lot of college administrators, that makes it harder to fill out a student aid form, that makes it difficult to repay your student loan, all of that is a deregulation, de-centralization of authority that I think he would instinctively favor, so I鈥檓 encouraged by that.鈥�
What about Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee? Alexander has talked about how he鈥檚 been concerned that the Obama administration has overreached on ESSA regulation. Does he have a similar worry about Clinton, should she become president?
鈥淚 hope that Hillary Clinton, if she were to be president would remember her days in Arkansas and how they, and we鈥擨 was governor at the same time鈥攚e didn鈥檛 think people in Washington were any smarter than we were in trying to figure out how to care for and educate our children, so I would hope that she would also understand the need to transfer or restore back to parents and classroom teachers, to the states, responsibility for education. Some of her biggest supporters understand that. The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association don鈥檛 like all this Washington control any better than I do. So her background and some of her supporters would make me hope that she would implement the new law in the way we wrote it, which means to restore states鈥� classroom teachers鈥� responsibility for what to do about our children.鈥�
What does Alexander think of Indiana Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana as Trump鈥檚 running mate? Pence has a background in school choice, and he鈥檚 anti-common core.
鈥淚 like Gov. Pence. I think it鈥檚 an excellent choice. He鈥檚 a known quantity. I worked with him in Congress. I found him a conservative Republican, but a very reasonable person, interested in policy. And I鈥檓 glad that he鈥檚 had a chance to be governor because governors have a very different job than members of Congress, they have to solve problems, they have to be practical. ... What he did on school choice, on universities ... I thought represented a very practical point of view for a conservative leader. So I like him, I鈥檓 glad he鈥檚 there. I think he adds a lot to the ticket.鈥�
Who would Alexander like to see as Trump鈥檚 education secretary?
鈥淪omeone who cares about children and will implement the new education law the way we wrote it, instead of trying to recreate the national school board that we tried to undo. You could pick any one of a number of people. There are a lot of good Republican governors out there who have a background in education who would be well-suited to take this new law over the next several years and lead the states, not mandate the states, to work on higher standards, better teaching and real accountability.
鈥淎ll of the good ideas are in the states and in the school districts, not in Washington, and we need a new education secretary who understands that. ... Unfortunately the current Education Department seems not to understand it.鈥�
Could he name a name? Give any suggestions?
He demurred, although he did mention he thinks there are also some good GOP state chiefs who could head up the Education Department. (No names on that either, sorry.)
Should Clinton get elected, she鈥檚 talked a lot about 鈥渇ree college"鈥攐f making public universities, or making public college free to many low- and moderate-income families. The Higher Education Act is the next big federal education bill to come up. Does Alexander think he could work with Clinton on something like that?
鈥淚f I鈥檓 the chairman or the ranking member of the education committee, my job is to work with the president. But [free college is] that鈥檚 the wrong approach. I think she鈥檚 just trying to catch up with Bernie Sanders and get his voters in a general election.鈥�
A better way to go, according to Alexander, would be Tennessee鈥檚 plan, which offers two years of free community college to every high school graduate, combined with mentoring, counseling, and a requirement for community service.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 see any way the federal government can afford the Sanders-Clinton philosophy that everything is free from Washington, nor do I think it鈥檚 the best approach.鈥�
Why does he think education has gotten so little attention in this presidential campaign, compared to past years?
鈥淓lections are about peace and prosperity. ... The solution to the prosperity problem, every governor knows, has a lot to do with education. ... Everyone talks about one thing: How do I get more trained workers鈥� for the jobs that need to be filled.
Photo: U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. (Swikar Patel/澳门跑狗论坛)