The Senate confirmed former Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan as U.S. Secretary of Education yesterday. The confirmation isn’t a surprise, given the warm reception Duncan got from the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. But, now that Duncan is officially in place, we may start hearing about some of the other positions in the Department of Education.

In the meantime, this afternoon the House Appropriations Committee is going to consider the $825 billion stimulus package, which would provide more than $120 billion for education programs. Check back at edweek.org, and this blog for the latest.