Secretary Cardona warns of 'dark era' if Trump eliminates education department, citing student protections
Miguel Cardona, from 4th grade teacher to Education Secretary, defends federal agency amid Trump’s push to eliminate it, emphasizing its role in public school oversight.
Miguel Cardona, who rose from fourth grade teacher to President Joe Biden's education secretary, fiercely defended the federal agency that oversees the nation's public schools and that President-elect Donald Trump wants to eliminate.
A first-generation Puerto Rican from Connecticut, Cardona became the state’s first Latino commissioner of education. As he prepares to leave the U.S. Department of Education, he is warning against Trump's vow to “get rid” of the department and allow each state to individually “handle education.” Trump has picked former wrestling executive Linda McMahon to oversee the department, a position that needs Senate confirmation.
“Protecting the federal Department of Education is protecting the rights and the opportunities of students. Otherwise, you’re going to have systems that look totally different in one state versus another, and not everyone will have the same opportunity to succeed in this country,” said Cardona, one of four Hispanic members of Biden's Cabinet.
In an interview with NBC News this week in New York City, Cardona said he takes great pride in having been part of "an administration that looks like America" and having worked with a team of people that "come from the classroom."
Miguel Cardona in Washington, D.C., on May 14.Peter G. Forest / Getty Images fileState and local governments have long been responsible for education, setting rules and providing most of the funding for schools. Though the federal department does not impose curricula or have a hand in most school policies, it manages federal grant programs and provides billions of dollars in supplemental funding to high-poverty K-12 schools — as well as covers the cost of education for students with disabilities. It also oversees the $1.6 trillion federal student loan program and determines what colleges must do to participate.
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