Federal

Hickok, Deputy Secretary and ‘Go-To’ Guy, Steps Down

By Michelle R. Davis — December 07, 2004 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The No. 2 official at the Department of Education, who spent the past four years helping to sell the Bush administration’s sweeping education plans across the country, said last week that he intends to resign.

The departure of Deputy Secretary Eugene W. Hickok, a former Pennsylvania education chief, had been predicted by many insiders since President Bush’s re-election and the Nov. 15 announcement that Secretary of Education Rod Paige would step down. Mr. Bush has nominated Margaret Spellings, his chief domestic-policy adviser, to lead the Education Department in his second term. She is expected to face little opposition during confirmation hearings likely to be held in January.

In a letter to the president made public on Dec. 2, Mr. Hickok lauded the No Child Left Behind Act, saying it has “given birth to a new era in this country.”

“Today we talk about accountability and results,” he wrote of the bipartisan school improvement law that has been the centerpiece of the administration’s education agenda. “We confront the achievement gap instead of closing our eyes to it.”

BRIC ARCHIVE

In a statement, Mr. Paige lauded Mr. Hickok as someone who brought a “deep understanding of education policy from the states’ perspective” to the table.

“His policy acumen and knowledge of the Constitution have been tremendously helpful as No Child Left Behind went from an idea to legislative language to passage into law,” Mr. Paige said, referring to the 3-year-old reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

It is widely believed that President Bush may seek to elevate Raymond J. Simon, the department’s assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, to replace Mr. Hickok as deputy secretary. No information was available on what Mr. Hickok may plan to do next, and he was unavailable for comment. Mr. Hickok plans to leave his post in January, said Susan Aspey, a department spokeswoman.

Mr. Hickok, 54, who became widely known while serving as Pennsylvania’s secretary of education, was originally suggested as a possibility for U.S. education secretary four years ago. But the Carlisle, Pa., native started out as undersecretary of education, the department’s No. 3 job. He brought his state-level experience and a conservative bent that caused some detractors to see him as an ideologue. (“Doing the ‘Right’ Thing,” April 16, 2003.)

“Gene Hickok has been famous for being his own fellow,” said Justin Torres, the research director at the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, a Washington-based group that has generally been supportive of the Bush administration’s education initiatives. “He’s willing to be confrontational when he needs to be. I wouldn’t say he has a take-no-prisoners style, but it sure comes close.”

Mr. Hickok spent six years as Pennsylvania’s education chief and 16 years before that as a political science professor and constitutional-law scholar at Dickinson College in Carlisle. In 1995, he helped coordinate the defection of several state schools chiefs from their leading Washington advocacy group, the Council of Chief State School Officers, to form the conservative-leaning Education Leaders Council.

Mr. Hickok was under secretary and deputy secretary, a post he took up in July 2003 on an acting basis. Just last month, he was finally confirmed by the Senate.

In both those roles, he was often the point man for overseeing implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act, which calls for increased testing and accountability in schools. He also advocated for the law’s parental-choice provision, which allows students to change schools under some circumstances, and for charter schools.

“He has been a real pathbreaking reformer,” said Clint Bolick, the president and general counsel of the Alliance for School Choice, a Phoenix-based organization that pushes for school vouchers nationally. “He not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. In the Department of Education, he has been an anti-bureaucrat.”

State Experience

During the most intensive implementation phase of the No Child Left Behind law, Mr. Hickok spent months scheduling meetings with state education chiefs, often collecting details on the difficulties they were having with the law. His own experience as a state chief brought him credibility and an added depth of knowledge of the challenges faced by states, said Ronald J. Tomalis, a former counselor to Mr. Paige and a one-time chief of staff to Mr. Hickok.

“He was very instrumental in understanding the dynamics of what happens at the state level,” Mr. Tomalis said. “A lot of us in Washington forget … that these state chiefs are dealing with their own legislative bodies and their own pressures.”

Mr. Hickok often appeared on Capitol Hill, explaining the nuts and bolts of the law to members of Congress, sometimes under harsh questioning.

“He was sort of the go-to person on No Child Left Behind in terms of concerns, complaints, enforcement, and the details of it,” said Rep. Michael N. Castle, R-Del., a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

But Mr. Hickok and some groups—the National Education Association in particular—often squared off over the details of the law. The 2.7 million-member NEA at times accused Mr. Hickok of having tunnel vision when it came to the school law’s implementation.

NEA President Reg Weaver said the union was hopeful that Mr. Hickok’s departure “represents another indication that the administration is serious about changing the tone of its discourse with the education community.”

Mr. Hickok didn’t escape controversy at the department. As a co-founder of the Education Leaders Council, he was often asked about his connection to the group, which has received more than $10 million in federal grants under the Bush administration.

It remains unclear whether Mr. Hickok was asked to leave his post, as some people believe occurred with Mr. Paige. But one source close to Mr. Hickok said his departure had been in the works for several months.

Events

Jobs Virtual Career Fair for Teachers and K-12 Staff
Find teaching jobs and other jobs in K-12 education at the EdWeek Top School Jobs virtual career fair.
Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Federal What Would Happen to K-12 in a 2nd Trump Term? A Detailed Policy Agenda Offers Clues
A conservative policy agenda could offer the clearest view yet of K-12 education in a second Trump term.
8 min read
Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome Ga.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, March 9, 2024, in Rome, Ga. Allies of the former president have assembled a detailed policy agenda for every corner of the federal government with the idea that it would be ready for a conservative president to use at the start of a new term next year.
Mike Stewart/AP
Federal Opinion Reading Scores Have Plunged Since the Pandemic. What This Senator Wants to Do About That
How can the nation support literacy efforts? The ranking Republican on the Senate education committee wants to hear from educators.
6 min read
Image shows a multi-tailed arrow hitting the bullseye of a target.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Federal Biden Calls for Teacher Pay Raises, Expanded Pre-K in State of the Union
President Joe Biden highlighted a number of his education priorities in a high-stakes speech as he seeks a second term.
5 min read
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol on March 7, 2024, in Washington.
Shawn Thew/Pool via AP
Federal Low-Performing Schools Are Left to Languish by Districts and States, Watchdog Finds
Fewer than half of district plans for improving struggling schools meet bare minimum requirements.
11 min read
A group of silhouettes looks across a grid with a public school on the other side.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week via Canva