Category: Federal Government Actions

President-elect Biden Announces Dr. Miguel Cardona as Nominee for Secretary of Education (December 24, 2020)

On December 22, 2020, President-elect Joe Biden announced that Dr. Miguel A. Cardona, a former public school classroom teacher and the current Connecticut Education Commissioner, will be nominated to serve as the 12th Secretary of Education.

According top a press release, as states and school districts struggle to meet studentsā€™ needs due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Dr. Cardona will make getting students of all ages and in every community back in the classroom safely a national priority ā€” working with Congress and local, state, and tribal leaders to secure the funding and strong public health measures needed towards safely reopening the majority of schools within the first 100 days of the new administration. He will also strive to eliminate long-standing inequities and close racial and socioeconomic opportunity gaps ā€” and expand access to community colleges, training, and public four-year colleges and universities to improve student success and grow a stronger, more prosperous, and more inclusive middle class.

Dr. Cardona currently serves as Connecticutā€™s Commissioner of Education ā€” the first Latino to hold the position. He began his career educating and inspiring Connecticutā€™s youth as a fourth-grade teacher in Meridenā€™s public school system, the same school district he attended as a child. Dr. Cardona became the youngest school principal in the state at age 28, serving in the position for 10 years before taking on a role addressing the districtā€™s performance and evaluation process and ultimately rising to the position of assistant superintendent. His leadership during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis helped make Connecticut the first state in the nation to ensure that every one of its public school students has a laptop and a high-speed internet connection to engage in remote learning ā€” a key driver in preventing lost school time and closing persistent equity and opportunity gaps.

In addition to teaching as an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut in the Department of Educational Leadership, Dr. Cardona served as the Co-Chairperson on the Connecticut Legislative Achievement Gap Task Force and the Connecticut Birth to Grade Three Leaders Council. Dr. Cardona earned his bachelorā€™s degree from Central Connecticut State University, and his masters in bilingual/bicultural education and his doctorate in education from the University of Connecticut.

To read more on Dr. Cardona, click here.

CDC expands local area health estimates to include data for the entire U.S. New PLACES (December 16, 2020)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced the expansion of the 500 Cities Project, a 2016 initiative to provide city- and neighborhood-level health estimates for a large portion of the nationā€™s population. The project is being renamed PLACES, and now provides Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates to the entire United States to show the prevalence of chronic diseases and the health impacts on underserved communities.
Many Americans face health-related challenges like chronic respiratory diseases, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity that put them at increased risk for severe illness from diseases such as COVID-19. The critical information in PLACES can help local and state health departments and community organizations decide where best to target resources to address these health challenges. PLACES data can be used to:

  • Inform target prevention activities, programs, and policies;
  • Identify emerging health problems and priority health risk behaviors;
  • Identify and understand geographic health-related issues;
  • Establish key health goals; and
  • Identify geographic disparities in health among and within communities to inform strategies that address health equity.

For more info on this topic from the CDC, please click here or go to: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2020/p1209-places.html

The IDEA Turns 45 (November 28, 2020)

On November 29, 2020, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) turns 45 years old. The IDEA is a law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligibleĀ children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children. To read more about the IDEA,Ā click here. To read an article on the IDEA turning 45,Ā click here.

Former Sec. Rivera to Serve New Administration (November 12, 2020)

Former Pennsylvania Department of Education Secretary Pedro Rivera will serve on theĀ agency review team for the U.S. Department of EducationOpens In A New Window. The review teams are comprised of experts who will help to ensure a smooth transition of power to the Biden Administration.

ā€œPedro Rivera was an excellent secretary of education for Pennsylvania and he is a tremendous choice by President-elect Biden to help prepare the education efforts of the next administration,ā€ said Gov. Wolf. ā€œPedroā€™s leadership was critical to rebuilding strong relationships to local school communities and improving the quality of education in our state.

ā€œUnder Pedro Riveraā€™s leadership, Pennsylvania reduced the over-reliance on standardized testing, adopted a landmark basic education funding formula, created the innovative Future Ready PA Index and more. I am proud that Pedro served in my cabinet and I look forward to his efforts to help set the values and priorities of the incoming administration.ā€

After serving as Pennsylvania secretary of education since Gov. Wolf took office in 2015, Rivera became president of Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology on Oct. 1. He was previously the superintendent of the School District of Lancaster.

Secretary Rivera also opened the 2019 Annual PAPSA Conference, providing an outstanding presentation.

USDE Releases Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide (November 11, 2020)

The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) has released a new Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide, a resource to help parents and guardians understand how digital tools can provide tailored learning opportunities, engage students with course materials, encourage creative expression, and enrich the educational experience.

The Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide includes guidance and best practices for caregivers around topics including:

1. How to leverage flexibilities and innovations technology and digital tools provide, such as accessibility options, to meet the unique needs of every learner ā€” including students with disabilities and English language learners.

2. Simple steps parents can take to keep their children safe online and foster safe online behavior, such as accessing security features on a child’s device, keeping track of log-in information, and keeping children safe while videoconferencing. The guide also discusses the importance of digital citizenship and offers parents resources to help their child navigate online bullying or encounters with troubling content.

3. How a competency-based learning approach, which measures a student’s knowledge of a subject rather than time spent on the subject, can harness technology for the benefit of students. Digital resources like online assessments, periodic check-ins, and more can update parents on their child’s learning progress, and they can provide instructional flexibility in the event of a school disruption. 4. Easy-to-understand primers on major federal laws governing student privacy and safety, such as FERPA, IDEA, and COPPA.

The guide can be viewed here.