Miguel Cardona, the nation’s 12th education secretary, led the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) since the spring of 2021, at a time when only about half of public school students had returned to full-time, in-person learning due to COVID-19 closures. Regardless, he set high goals for student academic achievement, expansion of career pathways, increased access to student mental health services and more opportunities for multilingualism.
Despite successes, Cardona ended up failing to enact protections for the first time to LGBTQI+ students and employees via Title IX as those attempts were thwarted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. That disappointment came on the heels of USDE’s withdrew its plan to finalize its proposed Title IX rule extending protections to transgender student athletes in the midst of widespread criticism and legal challenges.
In Sec. Cardona’s final days of in his position, K-12 Dive interviewed him about his accomplishments, the work he considers left undone, and the advice he has for his successor, Linda McMahon.
To read more from K-12 Dive about the interview, click here.