Biden Might Please the K-12 World by Picking an Education Secretary From Outside It

In its Politics K-12 blog, Education Week features input from College Executive Program's associate director Linda Perlstein on why President-Elect Biden should appoint a community college leader as the next U.S. Education Secretary, citing strong relationships with K-12 schools and understanding of major policy issues like free college and student debt.

But the agency has a relatively light footprint in elementary and secondary education policy compared to state departments and local school districts, Perlstein said, and college students are also at the center of important policy debates. "Who is more vulnerable than someone working two jobs and parenting a child and going to community college so they can stop being a gig worker whose livelihood has been taken away from them?" she said.