Hello,

Miguel Cardona, President Joe Biden’s nominee to be U.S. secretary of education, had a great confirmation hearing in the Senate education committee, and now his nomination is headed to the full Senate for a vote.

We need the Senate to confirm Cardona so that he can begin tackling the effects of COVID-19 on our students, families, educators and communities, which will include the hard work of ensuring in-school learning can be done safely during this pandemic. We need him to be confirmed so he can start untangling the mess of the student aid system that former Secretary Betsy DeVos left in her wake. And we need him confirmed so that the Education Department can be an agency that strengthens public education, protects students’ civil rights, and values and listens to educators and staff in public K-12 and higher education.

CLICK HERE to write to your senators asking them to confirm Miguel Cardona quickly to be our nation's next education secretary.

Cardona not only is a proud product of public schools, but also has made strengthening public education and fighting for equity his life's work. With his experience as a student, a fourth-grade teacher, a principal, an assistant superintendent and Connecticut's education commissioner, he will transform the Education Department to help students thrive.

I think back to our fight against DeVos’ confirmation. More people contacted the Senate than ever before to try to stop her. And once she was confirmed, each step of the way over the last four years, we fought against her policies that favored privatizing public schools; hurt veteran, LGBTQ and other vulnerable students; and undermined the voices of educators and school staff. It is such a relief to have a nominee who is focused on fixing things rather than on promoting an ideology that roots for public education to fail.

CLICK HERE to ask your senators to quickly confirm Cardona to be our next education secretary.

We know from our work with him in Meriden, Conn., that Cardona deeply respects educators and their unions. His commitment to collaboration will be crucial to providing the resources and supports needed to safely reopen schools. And in higher education, he can address the student loan crisis and strengthen colleges and universities, especially historically Black colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions. The Senate should not allow another day to pass without confirming Miguel Cardona to lead the U.S. Department of Education.

In unity,
Randi Weingarten
AFT president