WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) – President-elect Joe Biden introduced Miguel Cardona as his pick for education secretary on Wednesday, saying Connecticut’s education chief and life-long champion of public schools is the right pick to lead the department as the nation struggles to educate students safely during the pandemic.
The selection delivers on Biden’s promise to nominate someone with experience working in public education and would fulfill his goal of installing an education chief who stands in sharp contrast to President Donald Trump’s Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Unlike DeVos, a school choice advocate whom Biden says is an opponent of public schools, Cardona is a product of them, starting when he entered kindergarten unable to speak English.
During remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden called Cardona a “brilliant” educator who would help further his administration’s commitment to re-opening schools safely.
“We can do it if we give school districts, communities and states the clear guidance and resources that aren’t already in their tight budgets,” Biden said, adding that addressing the issue “requires someone who understands the need to prevent the pandemic from further exacerbating the inequities in our education system.”