Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden's Nomination of Gwen Graham | U.S. Department of Education

Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden's Nomination of Gwen Graham | U.S. Department of Education

Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden's Nomination of Gwen Graham

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued the following statement today on President Biden's intent to nominate Gwen Graham for Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education:

"I am grateful that President Biden has nominated Gwen Graham to serve as Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education. Graham brings decades of invaluable experience as a public education leader, federal legislator, and public servant to this role. As a graduate of public schools and the parent of public school graduates, she is keenly aware of the importance of a strong public education system that serves all students well. Graham's prior service to her local communities and to our country will be instrumental in shaping and implementing the Department's legislative goals and strategies. I am thankful for her willingness to serve our nation's students at the Department and look forward to her swift confirmation." 

About Gwen Graham

Gwen Graham, who honed her commitment to public service as a leader in Florida's local public schools, is a respected former member of Congress with a reputation for fairness, compassion, and problem-solving. Graham served as the Congressional representative from Florida's 2nd District during the 114th Congress and was known as one of the House's most bipartisan members. She is an attorney and prior to her service in Congress, Graham focused her practice on public education as Chief of Labor and Employee Relations for the Leon County School District. She was involved in every aspect of the educational process and was recognized for her integrity and fairness. The Florida Education Association and the Leon Classroom Teachers Association were the first organizations to endorse her Congressional candidacy. She also served as a board member of the statewide Florida Educational Negotiators. Graham is a proud product of public K-12 education as are her children, and she served as PTA President and School Advisory Council Chair while they were young. She has worked on a number of presidential campaigns, and in 2004 served as John Kerry's surrogate coordinator in Florida. She currently serves as a board director of the Bob Graham Center for Public Service at the University of Florida, the Florida State Parks Foundation, Ruth's List, and as Vice Chair of the City of Tallahassee Independent Ethics Board.

Statement by Secretary Cardona on President Biden's Nomination of Gwen Graham | U.S. Department of Education

Strategic Advocacy Over Decades Brought Us an Expanded Child Tax Credit: Can the Same Kind of Strategic Organizing Produce School Funding Reform? | janresseger

Strategic Advocacy Over Decades Brought Us an Expanded Child Tax Credit: Can the Same Kind of Strategic Organizing Produce School Funding Reform? | janresseger

Strategic Advocacy Over Decades Brought Us an Expanded Child Tax Credit: Can the Same Kind of Strategic Organizing Produce School Funding Reform?

On Saturday, after the U.S. Senate joined the U.S. House of Representatives to pass President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, I started thinking about how a huge coalition and strong advocates can sustain support for an important reform even through times that feel bleak and hopeless. Now, as a result of persistent and strategic advocacy, suddenly an election of new leaders has on some level adjusted our society’s collective notion of the role of government.

Welfare reform imposed policies that punished parents who were not working by reducing their access to public assistance. In doing so, President Bill Clinton and the Congress that replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families entirely neglected the needs of America’s poorest children. But as of this weekend, by expanding the Child Tax Credit, Congress accepted the idea that as a society we bear collective responsibility for the well-being of our children. And while the expanded Child Tax Credit is part of this year’s time-limited pandemic relief, my Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown and Colorado Senator Michael Bennett have promised to try to make the changes permanent.

Back in 2004, I read Jason DeParle’s powerful book, American Dream: Three Women, Ten Kids, and a Nation’s Drive to End Welfare, about how the 1996 welfare reform harmed children. Since then I have filled my clipping file with DeParle’s articles about our collective responsibility for poor children, most recently last summer, when DeParle pushed for expanding the Child Tax Credit in the NY Times and the New York Review of Books.  At the same time, I realized that powerful research and advocacy organizations—including First Focus on Children, the Center for Law and Social Policy, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the Urban Institute, and the Brookings Institution—were working to expand the CONTINUE READING: Strategic Advocacy Over Decades Brought Us an Expanded Child Tax Credit: Can the Same Kind of Strategic Organizing Produce School Funding Reform? | janresseger

Lifelong Educator, Miguel Cardona, Confirmed As Education Secretary | 89.3 KPCC

Lifelong Educator, Miguel Cardona, Confirmed As Education Secretary | 89.3 KPCC

Lifelong Educator, Miguel Cardona, Confirmed As Education Secretary

The U.S. Department of Education will have a new leader. Late Monday, in a 64 to 33 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Miguel Cardona to be the next Secretary of Education.

Before being nominated by President Biden, Cardona served as Connecticut's education commissioner for the past year and a half, arguing forcefully that schools should reopen during the COVID-19 crisis in order to keep equity gaps from growing ever wider. Before that, he spent his entire career working for the public school system that helped raise him — as a fourth grade teacher, principal and assistant superintendent in the old factory town of Meriden, Conn.

Cardona assumes the Education Department's top job as the debate around how to safely reopen schools has grown increasingly bitter, with many parents clamoring for children to be able to return to classrooms and with many teachers resisting a return before all educators have been vaccinated. That has forced Biden to walk a political tightrope, reassuring teachers they should be prioritized for the vaccine while new guidance from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention makes clear that vaccinations should not be a prerequisite for reopening schools.

The school tracking website, Burbio, suggests schools have been gradually reopening. According to its tracker, 27.5% of students still attend virtual-only schools — down from 31% the week before. An additional 28% attend schools offering CONTINUE READING: Lifelong Educator, Miguel Cardona, Confirmed As Education Secretary | 89.3 KPCC

2021 U.S. Senate Youth Program Students Announced - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

2021 U.S. Senate Youth Program Students Announced - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces California High School Students for the 2021 U.S. Senate Youth Program

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced two outstanding high school students to represent California in the 59th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP), sponsored by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation.

            Jamaal Willis of Barstow (San Bernardino County), a senior at Barstow High School in the Barstow Unified School District, and Sathvik Nori of Atherton (San Mateo County), a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School in the Sequoia Union High School District, were selected for their exceptional leadership skills, remarkable commitment to their schools and communities, and scholastic achievement as California’s delegates in this highly competitive program.

            “I could not be prouder to recognize these students for this honor. These young scholars will represent our state on a national stage, and I’m confident they will one day rise to leadership positions that help advance the dreams, aspirations, and ambitions of Californians for years to come,” Thurmond said. “I am impressed and inspired by their strong leadership and passion. From advocating for racial equity and civil rights to working on mental health awareness and increasing civic engagement among their peers, these students desire to empower the disadvantaged and improve the lives of others, which fills me with great optimism for our future.”

            Thurmond also named two alternates in the event that one or both of the delegates are unable to attend the program. The first alternate is Emma Barrosa of Glendora (Los Angeles County), a senior at Glendora High School in Glendora Unified. The second alternate is Michael Zhao of San Jose (Santa Clara County), a senior at Lynbrook High School in the Fremont Union High School District.

            The USSYP provides a yearly opportunity for selected students to gain an in-depth view of the Senate and the federal government overall as well as a deeper understanding of the interrelationship of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches, according to the national USSYP website. The program provides a foundation of knowledge and encouragement for those considering a future in public service on the local, state, or national level.

            Two student leaders from each state, the District of Columbia, and the Department of Defense Education Activity each receive a $10,000 scholarship and will participate this year in Washington Week Online, an interactive experience, from March 14–18, 2021.

            Students must be nominated by their high school principal to participate in the program. To qualify for the program, high school juniors or seniors must be actively serving in an elected or appointed leadership position in which they are representing a constituency in organizations related to student government, education, public affairs, and/or community service as well as express an interest in pursuing a career in public service.

            A selection committee from the California Department of Education (CDE) reviews eligible nominees, and the awardees are selected based on the quality of their application, demonstrated leadership abilities, academic achievement, involvement in school and community activities, extracurricular activities, and commitment to public service.                                      

            For more information, please visit the CDE’s United States Senate Youth Program web page.

The following are synopses compiled from their applications:

Jamaal Willis—Delegate
Barstow
San Bernardino County

Jamaal Willis is a senior at Barstow High School in the Barstow Unified School District and currently serves as Student Body President. A former shy introvert, he is Captain of the Mock Trial and Speech and Debate teams, Captain of the Track and Field teams, and Captain/founder of the Boys’ Volleyball Team. He has volunteered many community service hours with Assemblymember Mike Gipson’s office, the American Civil Liberties Union, NAACP, and the Safe Youth Coalition working on racial equity, civil rights, and homeless issues. He was named a Yale Young Global Scholar and the inaugural QuestBridge National College Match Finalist from the High Desert. He has a passion for social justice and desires to protect the rights of others. As a first-generation college student, he plans to double-major in political science and international politics, pursue a career as a civil rights or criminal attorney, and work as a diplomat and run for office in the future.

Sathvik Nori—Delegate
Atherton
San Mateo County

Sathvik Nori is a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School in the Sequoia Union High School District and serves as the only high school student and youngest Commissioner on the San Mateo Juvenile Justice Commission. In addition, he is actively engaged in his school and community as a Student Trustee for the school board, President of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council, Chair of the San Mateo Youth Commission, and Editor-in-Chief for his school’s newspaper. A nationally ranked debater and Captain of the school Debate Team, he advocates for teen awareness and equity issues for diverse groups to be well-represented in politics. He has received international honors: Sathvik was selected as one out of 10 student leaders from over 1,000 candidates to participate in an Iraqi-Youth Exchange Program to expand civic engagement and intercultural communication. He hopes to explore majors in public policy or political science followed by a graduate degree in law to focus on progressive justice reforms.

Emma Barrosa—First Alternate
Glendora
Los Angeles County

Emma Barrosa is a senior at Glendora High School in the Glendora Unified School District. She is active with the California YMCA Youth and Government Program, serving as one of four student board members and responsible for the fiscal and policy decisions of the organization. She is the co-founder and Vice President of her school’s Girls Build LA team, which focuses on improving mental health and school sustainability through wellness support. Her academic achievements include being recognized as a Hispanic Scholarship Fund Scholar as one of the nation’s top 400 Latino rising high school seniors for the class of 2021, a National AP Scholar, and a College Board National Hispanic Scholar. Emma has been early accepted into Stanford University and plans to pursue political science followed by a law degree. She has a passion for policy and wants to work for the State Department and someday run for office to empower disadvantaged communities.

Michael Zhao—Second Alternate
San Jose
Santa Clara County

Michael Zhao is a senior at Lynbrook High School in the Fremont Union High School District and serves as Student Body President. Described as humble with an incredible work ethic and desire to help those less fortunate, he is active in his community and school as Chair of the Santa Clara Valley Youth Commission, which raises awareness of water and conservation issues; founder and President of his school’s Science Olympiad Club; a National Officer and Parliamentarian with the Future Business Leaders of America; and a National Liaison and Student Fundraising Coordinator for the March of Dimes. As a volunteer with Asian Pacific-Islander American Public Affairs, he has organized voter registration drives for students as well as the local Asian/Pacific Islander community. A National Merit Semifinalist and National AP Scholar, Michael plans to study government and biology, pursuing a career in public service, and would like to run for Congress to lead and fight for equitable healthcare policies.

# # # #

Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

2021 U.S. Senate Youth Program Students Announced - Year 2021 (CA Dept of Education)

How Are the Children? U.S. Senate Republicans Don’t Worry About That. | janresseger

How Are the Children? U.S. Senate Republicans Don’t Worry About That. | janresseger

How Are the Children? U.S. Senate Republicans Don’t Worry About That.

This week a group of so-called moderate U.S. Senate Republicans proposed to negotiate with President Joe Biden about his proposed $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan stimulus bill.  But even the ten senators, who profess themselves to be moderates and who came forward with a $618 billion alternative proposal, proved themselves willing to neglect the needs of America’s children. The United States, the world’s richest nation, posts an alarming child poverty rate, but, apart from the voices of a handful of social justice advocates, any level of concern about child poverty is inaudible. Hardly anybody seems to have noticed that one of the great strengths of Biden’s American Rescue Plan is the President’s inclusion of funding for programs that would significantly ameliorate suffering among America’s poorest children.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’ Chuck Marr did recently recognize the significance of the pro-child provisions in Biden’s new American Rescue Plan: “President Biden’s $1.9 trillion emergency relief plan includes a Child Tax Credit expansion that would lift 9.9 million children above or closer to the poverty line, including 2.3 million Black children, 4.1 million Latino children, and 441,000 Asian American children. It also would lift 1.1 million children out of ‘deep poverty,’ raising their family incomes above 50 percent of the poverty line. To do that, the Biden plan would make the credit fully available to 27 million children—including roughly half of all Black and Latino children—whose families now don’t get the full credit because their parents don’t earn enough….”

On Monday, VOX‘s Li Zhou and Emily Stewart reported on the alternative, $618 billion plan CONTINUE READING: How Are the Children? U.S. Senate Republicans Don’t Worry About That. | janresseger

Pandemic Relief and the Georgia Elections by Ben Jealous | NewBlackMan (in Exile)

Pandemic Relief and the Georgia Elections by Ben Jealous | NewBlackMan (in Exile)

Pandemic Relief and the Georgia Elections by Ben Jealous

by Ben Jealous | @BenJealous | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)

Fair warning: this isn’t a traditional Christmas-week column.

If we think of clarity as a kind of gift, though, we can be grateful that the effort to pass a much-needed COVID-19 relief bill in the waning days of this Congress makes one thing crystal clear: hurting families and small businesses will be abandoned if Republicans keep control of the U.S. Senate by winning Georgia’s January 5 runoff elections.

There is some good news. The $900 billion package includes emergency relief for renters, families, small businesses, and more. That relief, that, includes direct help to individuals, is urgently needed. It will extend some protections against evictions for another month. It will give small business owners a little more breathing space to try to survive the pandemic.

About 12 million unemployed people who were going to be cut off at the end of the year will receive $300 weekly in federal support and an extension of the unemployment assistance program until mid-March.

All this is necessary. But it is a temporary fix that falls far short of addressing the pain people are experiencing and truly setting us on the road to recovery.

Almost 12 million renters will be behind on their rent by an average of almost $6,000 at the end of this month, according to one study. The Census Bureau says that about 29 percent of Black families are behind on rent. Much of the back rent has piled up since unemployment benefits under the CARES Act—the first relief bill—expired during the summer. According to some estimates, as many as 20 million tenants—about the population of Florida—are at risk of eviction.

With a problem that huge, David Dworkin, CEO of the National Housing Conference, told MarketWatch that the bill’s $25 billion in rental assistance is just a band-aid, “a practical start for staving off the immediate threat of mass evictions across the country.”

Because the bill falls short of what is needed, some people are blaming “Congress” generally.

Let’s get real. If congressional Republicans had CONTINUE READING: Pandemic Relief and the Georgia Elections by Ben Jealous | NewBlackMan (in Exile)

Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools? | janresseger

Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools? | janresseger

Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools?

Negotiations between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House negotiator Steve Mnuchin and Senate Republicans for a second coronavirus relief bill have collapsed until at least after the election—maybe until a new Congress convenes in 2021 and, perhaps, a new President takes over.  Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell has declared that the U.S. Senate will not even be back in session until November 9.

Of immediate urgency is essential assistance for individuals and small businesses now that most of the programs funded by last March’s CARES Act have run out—the one-time $1,200 stimulus checks, the small business paycheck protection program, pandemic emergency unemployment benefits, an eviction moratorium, and support for health coverage. But there is another critically important need—one that is slightly farther removed from families’ immediate crisis.

Through months of negotiations, the two sides could never reach any agreement on one of Nancy Pelosi’s top priorities and something essential for the nation’s over 13,000 local public school districts: significant relief for state and local governments. State funding averages 40 percent of all public school funding, with local funds comprising around 40 percent.  President Donald Trump and some Republican  Senators opposed what Trump called “a bailout for poorly managed ‘blue’ states.”  While Trump and so-called “deficit hawk” Republican Senators have politicized the issue, here is how—last April—Rutgers University education funding expert, Bruce Baker, and Albert Shanker Institute policy expert, Matthew Di Carlo defined the urgent need for relief for state and local governments: “The most terrible and lasting effects of the coronavirus pandemic will of course be measured in loss of life. But a parallel tragedy will also be unfolding in the coming months and years, this one affecting those at the beginning of their lives: an unprecedented school funding crisis that threatens to disadvantage a generation of children. It currently is difficult to make any precise predictions about the magnitude of the economic recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic, except CONTINUE READING: Prospects for COVID-19 Stimulus Package Fade: Will We Have to Wait for A New President and New Congress to Negotiate Relief for States and Their Public Schools? | janresseger

For Defining the Right to Public Education, Constitutional Originalism Doesn’t Work | janresseger

For Defining the Right to Public Education, Constitutional Originalism Doesn’t Work | janresseger

For Defining the Right to Public Education, Constitutional Originalism Doesn’t Work

For a couple of weeks now, since the publication of Derek Black’s history of the constitutional basis for American public education, this blog has been reflecting on the meaning of constitutional principles in our nation’s founding documents and the 50 state constitutions for defining the role and meaning of our nation’s system of public schools.  (See here, here, and here.)

This blog will take a one week break.  Look for a new post on Monday, October 26, 2020

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But this week, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who defines herself as a constitutional originalist, went through hours of Senate confirmation hearings leading to a Senate vote on her confirmation in the next week or two as President Trump’s latest appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court. All week we have been considering what it means for our society today when members of the U.S. Supreme Court define themselves as originalists who are bound to interpret the constitutionality of today’s laws according to the precise wording of the U.S. Constitution of 1787.

The other day when Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, trained in the law and formerly a federal prosecutor, was asked whether she is an originalist, Mayor Lightfood replied: “You ask a gay, black woman if she is an originalist? No, ma’am, I am not. The Constitution didn’t consider me a person… because I’m a woman, because I’m black, because I’m gay.  I am not an originalist. I believe in the Constitution. I believe that it is a document that the founders intended to evolve and what they did was set the framework for how our country was going to be different from any other. But originalists say that, ‘Let’s go back to 1776 and whatever was there in the original language, that’s it.’ That language excluded, now, over 50 percent of the country. So, no I’m not an originalist.”

Like Mayor Lightfoot, many people today worry about originalist legal interpretation.  In CONTINUE READING: For Defining the Right to Public Education, Constitutional Originalism Doesn’t Work | janresseger

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates! | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates! | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates!

The Network for Public Education Action is delighted to endorse the following candidates for election to the United States Senate:

Mark Kelly-Arizona

Jon Ossoff-Georgia

Theresa Greenfield-Iowa

Barbara Bollier-Kansas

Amy McGrath-Kentucky

Sara Gideon-Maine

Steve Bullock-Montana

Cal Cunningham-North Carolina

Jaime Harrison-South Carolina

NPE Action Endorses 8 Candidates for the U.S. Senate

We endorse these nine candidates as friends of public education. We are not able to send them money, but we urge friends of public education in their states to donate to their campaigns and vote for them.

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates! | Diane Ravitch's blog