Blog

Your Education Road Map

Politics K-12

Politics K-12 kept watch on education policy and politics in the nation’s capital and in the states. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: Federal, States.

Federal

Who’s in the Running to Be Education Secretary?

By David J. Hoff — November 05, 2008 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The guessing game has begun.

This morning’s Washington Post suggests that New York City Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein as secretary of education “would mark a departure from the tradition of rewarding loyalists and party leaders.” Politico reports that former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is in the running for the job. Timemagazine’s The Page says one of “the eight burning Obama-Biden questions” is: “Would Colin Powell accept the job of secretary of education?” The Wall Street Journal interviewed Powell, who said he didn’t want to job in the Obama administration. The Chronicle of Higher Education offers a long list of possibilities; many on the list are highly unlikely, according to my sources.

And all of this happened before the Obama communications office announced the people who would be working on the transition team.

I talked with several people today who are in the know on this. They all say it’s too early to know exactly what the transition team is looking for in an education secretary for many of the same reasons I listed earlier. It probably will be two weeks before the search for an education secretary becomes serious.

But it’s too early to dismiss many of the big names mentioned so far. If you’re entering a guessing contest, you might have a shot if you pick Klein, Chicago’s Arne Duncan, North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley, or Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano. Stanford Professor Linda Darling-Hammond has some influential backers, I hear, and Jonathan Schnur—the head of New Leaders for New Schools—certainly has connections to the campaign that could land him in charge at the Education Department. But both may be better suited for positions that focus more on policy than politics.

But if you want a long-shot candidate, try Atlanta Superintendent Beverly Hall. And you can say you read it here first.

A version of this news article first appeared in the Politics K-12 blog.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Assessment Webinar
Reflections on Evidence-Based Grading Practices: What We Learned for Next Year
Get real insights on evidence-based grading from K-12 leaders.
Content provided by Otus
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Student Well-Being Webinar
Creating Resilient Schools with a Trauma-Responsive MTSS
Join us to learn how school leaders are building a trauma-responsive MTSS to support students & improve school outcomes.
School & District Management Live Online Discussion A Seat at the Table: We Can’t Engage Students If They Aren’t Here: Strategies to Address the Absenteeism Conundrum
Absenteeism rates are growing fast. Join Peter DeWitt and experts to learn how to re-engage students & families.

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 Opinion The U.S. Dept. of Ed. Has Been Cut in Half. We Have Thoughts
Absent clear explanation and deft management, the push to downsize the department invites confusion and risks political blowback.
7 min read
The United States Capitol building as a bookcase filled with red, white, and blue policy books in a Washington DC landscape.
Luca D'Urbino for Education Week
Federal Linda McMahon Abruptly Tells States Their Time to Spend COVID Relief Has Passed
Secretary Linda McMahon said the Education Department would no longer honor the extensions it had granted states.
3 min read
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives before President Donald Trump attends a reception for Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon arrives before President Donald Trump attends a reception for Women's History Month in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, March 26, 2025, in Washington. In a letter Friday, McMahon told state leaders on March 28 that their time to spend remaining COVID relief funds would end that same day.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP
Federal McMahon Says Schools With 'Gender Plans' Could Be Violating Federal Privacy Law
The U.S. Department of Education opened investigations under FERPA into two states, alleging violations of parents' rights.
5 min read
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington, Thursday, March 20, 2025. McMahon said that the U.S. Department of Education would make a "revitalized effort" to pursue federal student privacy law violations for parents' rights, asserting that school "gender plans" that aren't available to parents violate the federal law.
Ben Curtis/AP
Federal Dramatic Cuts to Ed. Data Programs Will Have Far-Reaching Consequences, Researchers Warn
Education research organizations asked Congress to intervene in cuts to ed. data, research staff.
6 min read
Image of performance data analysis.
NicoElNino/iStock/Getty