Senate must fully vet education candidate, advocate says

Lawmakers must disqualify any candidate involved in child abuse

The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee will review the qualifications of entertainment executive Linda McMahon to serve as Secretary of Education during a hearing tomorrow (Thursday, Feb, 13) at 10amET. First Focus on Children President Bruce Lesley offers the following statement on the procedings:

“First Focus on Children urges the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to fully vet all Administration nominees and we will continue to raise concerns any time a potential leader poses a danger to children. On the appointment of Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education, we firmly believe that the education secretary should have thorough experience in public education and a vision to support all students. We question whether McMahon meets that standard and we have serious concerns as to whether her limited education experience is sufficient to have an adequate understanding of the range of issues that our students face. All students across the country deserve a candidate who has a breadth of experience in supporting students from diverse backgrounds, and we urge the Senate to ask thorough questions regarding the background ofMcMahon and her vision for how to best support public education.

The Department of Education is the only federal department exclusively committed to children. Its existence is critical to protecting student rights and ensuring students are not discriminated against in an educational environment. The Department of Education cannot be dismantled by presidential authority alone, and we take threats to do so seriously. President Trump has outlined his desire for McMahon to ‘put herself out of a job.’ In McMahon’s nomination hearing, she must make clear that she would act within her constitutional capacity and respect that dismantling an agency requires Congressional action.

We remain concerned about recent events, such as the Department of Education unilaterally cancelling at least $900 million in contracts within the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES). Our nation’s students depend on Department of Education programs to receive a high-quality education. We ask that McMahon provide justification for these recent actions and tell the Senate how they will impact students.

McMahon serves as the Chair of the Board and Chair of the Center for the American Worker at the America First Policy Institute, a group that has shared high levels of enthusiasm for school voucher programs. School vouchers strip funds from public education, can discriminate against students, and have not been found to promote academic achievement. We urge the Senate to question any pro-voucher policies that McMahon may champion and ensure that any proposals would not impact public school funding. Beyond her position at the America First Policy Institute, McMahon brings little education experience to the Department of Education: she served a year on the Connecticut Board of Education and had a stint on a university’s board of trustees.

We urge the Senate to ensure that any education secretary recognizes students’ rights and approves a candidate that will center children in their decision-making. Centering children means supporting student health, such as keeping vaccine mandates in place, ensuring availability of school nurses, and keeping school health resources intact. To support all students, it is essential that the Secretary uphold the rights of those from underserved communities, for instance, by maintaining funding for Title I, IDEA and English Language Acquisition, advocating for protecting the Office for Civil Rights, and prioritizing the safety of LGBTQ+ students. We also insist that the Secretary support our students’ First Amendment rights and the ability to learn an accurate depiction of history, which means opposing book bans and censorship in school curriculums.

We are alarmed by the lawsuit against McMahon brought by five victims who allege that she enabled sexual and emotional abuse of children as the head of World Wrestling Entertainment. It is crucial that the Senate thoroughly review this allegation and ask questions regarding McMahon’s alleged involvement. The role of our public education system is to protect and educate the students of our country. Any candidate involved in the sexual or emotional abuse of children must obviously be disqualified to head the department that leads the country’s schools.

We are grateful to the Senate for its important role in vetting the nominees for the cabinet of President Trump. We urge senators to ensure that any candidate for Secretary of Education has not been involved in sexual exploitation of children, has a concrete background in education policy, and recognizes and supports the rights of all students.”