The state well being and training chiefs stated the prevention methods colleges are utilizing are working, and the state wasn’t seeing “sustained individual to individual transmission” of the virus in colleges, or outbreaks at colleges, regardless of a surge within the state. That put Cardona at odds with the state academics union, though selections about distant or in-person courses have been left to native districts.
The union has demanded statewide guidelines on sharing knowledge about faculty coronavirus circumstances, testing and availability of private protecting tools.
Nonetheless, the academics union and different training unions in Connecticut endorsed Cardona’s choice as head of the Schooling Division.
“Whereas this problem has been a rocky street — and lots of points stay unresolved — academics and college assist workers have appreciated his openness and collaboration. If chosen as Secretary of Schooling, Dr. Cardona could be a constructive drive for public training — gentle years forward of the dismal Betsy DeVos monitor document,” a coalition of the unions said.
Cardona additionally has stated the state plans to carry on with statewide testing later within the faculty yr. The pandemic led to federal waivers for all states on testing final spring, however DeVos has held agency that testing ought to proceed for the present faculty yr, and Cardona’s place in Connecticut might translate to the remainder of the nation if confirmed.
One difficulty in lots of states the place instructing has shifted on-line is entry to the web and a tool to make use of for college make money working from home. Connecticut had the identical issues final spring however spent tens of millions on laptops and web connections, partially utilizing federal help. The state declared earlier this month that it is the first to meet the needs of every student who had a difficulty accessing on-line courses.
And to fill a requirement for academics made worse by the pandemic and enhance the range of the instructing workforce, Cardona recruited college students to work in public colleges.
Cardona’s mother and father moved to Connecticut from Puerto Rico and have been residing in a housing challenge when he was born, the Connecticut Mirror reported. He spoke solely Spanish till he began faculty.
He was named Connecticut’s principal of the yr in 2012.
As Schooling secretary, Cardona would assist lead Biden’s cost to spice up federal funding to training so a majority of faculties can reopen within the first 100 days of his administration, which the president-elect has outlined as a “nationwide precedence.”
If confirmed, Cardona would be part of Xavier Becerra as Secretary of Well being and Human Companies and Alejandro Mayorkas as head of the Division of Homeland Safety as different Latinos in Biden’s Cupboard.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which pressed Biden to nominate a Latino to the Schooling put up and different Cupboard-level positions, stated solely two Latinos in that group of federal leaders wouldn’t correctly characterize the nation. It backed Cardona in addition to former Nationwide Schooling Affiliation President Lily Eskelsen García, noting a Latina has by no means had the job.
Different finalists for the Schooling secretary function included Leslie Fenwick, the previous dean of Howard College’s faculty of training and Sharon Contreras, the superintendent of faculties in Guilford County, S.C.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Lecturers, who herself was seen as a possible contender for the function early on, praised Cardona in a tweet on Monday as a former AFT member who was “dedicated to collaboration.”
Cardona could be the second Latino to run the Schooling Division. Lauro Fred Cavazos Jr. was the primary, working within the put up in the course of the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.
Cardona would substitute DeVos, who was sharply vital of the affect of labor unions and blamed the “institution” for points within the U.S. training system. DeVos promoted options to conventional public colleges as a part of a faculty selection agenda that was anathema to academics unions.
Biden has referred to as for eliminating federal funding to for-profit constitution colleges and increasing scrutiny of federal {dollars} that assist create all forms of new constitution colleges.
However a few of the get together’s constitution faculty advocates, together with Democrats for Schooling Reform, have criticized efforts to reduce federal assist for constitution colleges, saying it should minimize off choices for low-income college students.
On the marketing campaign path, Biden vowed to triple federal funding for low-income colleges by means of the Title I program, together with boosting trainer pay. The president-elect additionally has dedicated to swiftly reversing DeVos’ insurance policies on the Schooling Division, together with her Title IX guidelines governing sexual misconduct in colleges and faculties, rescission of steering selling the rights of transgender college students and rollbacks of Obama-era laws concentrating on for-profit faculties.
On increased training, Biden has promised to double the Pell Grant and push for brand new federal funding to permit states to eradicate tuition at group faculties for all college students and at four-year public universities for college kids from households incomes $125,000 or much less.
Biden’s administration additionally should resolve whether or not to relent to rising progressive calls for that he use government powers to cancel giant swaths of excellent debt owed by federal mortgage debtors.
