Rep. John Kline of Minnesota, the top Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, released a statement today saying that he’s officially going to pursue the chairmanship of the panel now that the Republicans have taken the House.

So what will be his priorities?

Kline said he wants to conduct “robust oversight of education and workforce programs across the federal government.” So my guess is Obama administration officials should get ready for subpoenas on the recent changes to the student loan program and be prepared to explain what happened to that $100 billion in education funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

And Kline says he wants to “pursue education reform that restores local control, empowers parents, lets teachers teach, and protects taxpayers.” The local control part is no big surprise, that seems to be what Republicans ran on. “Protects taxpayers” probably means the GOP wants to be very cautious when it comes to spending.

What Kline doesn’t say: That he’s jumping right on the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a.k.a. the No Child Left Behind Act. That might mean he and his staff are still figuring out just how the newly elected Republican majority wants to proceed on this issue.

For more on Kline, check out his views on ESEA renewal and Race to the Top, and his support for allowing states to have more say over how testing works under NCLB.

And, while you’re still in election mode, check out what Eduwonk and Flypaper have to say about last night’s results.