[Senate Hearing 117-169]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        S. Hrg. 117-169

                      NOMINATION OF MIGUEL CARDONA
                              TO SERVE AS
                         SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

=======================================================================

                                HEARING

                                 OF THE

                    COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
                          LABOR, AND PENSIONS

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                    ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS

                             FIRST SESSION

                                   ON

 EXAMINING THE NOMINATION OF MIGUEL A. CARDONA, OF CONNECTICUT, TO BE 
                         SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

                               __________

                            FEBRUARY 3, 2021

                               __________

 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
                                Pensions
                                
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]                                


        Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
        
                              __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE                    
46-749 PDF                 WASHINGTON : 2022                     
          
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------   
        
        
          COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS

                  LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee, Chairman
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee, Chairman
                                     
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming		PATTY MURRAY, Washington
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina		BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont
RAND Paul, Kentucky			ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania
SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine			TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana		CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut
PAT ROBERTS, Kansas		        ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska			TIM KAINE, Virginia
TIM SCOTT, South Carolina		MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
MITT ROMNEY, Utah		        TINA SMITH, Minnesota
MIKE BRAUN, Indiana			DOUG JONES, Alabama
KELLY Loeffler, Georgia			JACKY ROSEN, Nevada
                                     
               David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director
         Lindsey Ward Seidman, Republican Deputy Staff Director
                  Evan Schatz, Minority Staff Director
              John Righter, Minority Deputy Staff Director
                            
                            
                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              

                               STATEMENTS

                      WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2021

                                                                   Page

                           Committee Members

Murray, Hon. Patty, Chair, Pro Tempore, Committee on Health, 
  Education, Labor, and Pensions, Opening statement..............     1
Burr, Hon. Richard, Ranking Member, a U.S. Senator from the State 
  of North Carolina, Opening statement...........................     5

                               Witnesses

Cardona, Hon. Miguel, Meriden, CT................................    11
    Prepared statement...........................................    12

                          ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.
    America's Public Television Stations, letter of support for 
      Hon. Miguel Cardona........................................    50
    Every Hour Counts Network, letter of support for Hon. Miguel 
      Cardona....................................................    51
    National Education Association, letter of support for Hon. 
      Miguel Cardona.............................................    52

 
                      NOMINATION OF MIGUEL CARDONA
                              TO SERVE AS
                         SECRETARY OF EDUCATION

                              ----------                              


                      Wednesday, February 3, 2021

                                       U.S. Senate,
       Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:01 a.m., in 
room SD-430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Patty Murray, 
Madam Chair (Pro Tempore) of the Committee, presiding.
    Present: Senators Murray [presiding], Casey, Baldwin, 
Murphy, Kaine, Hassan, Smith, Rosen, Lujan, Warren, Burr, Paul, 
Collins, Cassidy, Murkowski, Braun, Marshall, Scott, and 
Romney.

                  OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURRAY

    The Chair pro tempore. The Senate Committee on Health, 
Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order.
    Today, we are holding a hearing on the nomination of Dr. 
Miguel Cardona to be the Secretary of the Department of 
Education. Senator Burr and I will each have an opening 
statement, and then I will recognize Senator Blumenthal, who 
has joined our Committee today to introduce Dr. Cardona, 
followed by an introduction from Senator Murphy. After Dr. 
Cardona gives his testimony, Senators will have 5 minutes each 
for a round of questions, and I am happy to continue for a 
second round if Senators have any remaining questions.
    Before we begin, I also want to walk through the COVID-19 
safety protocols in place. We will follow the advice of the 
Attending Physician and the Sergeant at Arms in conducting this 
hearing. Committee Members and our witnesses are seated at 
least 6 feet apart. That means we are unable to have the public 
or the media attend in person, but the hearing is available on 
our Committee website at www.help.senate.gov. Some Senators, 
including myself, are participating by videoconference. And I 
am very grateful to the Sergeant at Arms, the Capitol Police, 
the Architect of the Capitol, the Press Gallery, the Rules 
Committee, and our Committee staff for all of their hard work 
to help us all stay safe and healthy.
    This is the first meeting of the HELP Committee in this new 
Congress. I am immensely honored today to take the helm of the 
Committee I believe represents the heart and soul of this 
Country, from healthcare, to education, to supporting workers 
and retirees, to childcare, to ensuring everyone can live with 
dignity and respect. The issues that we tackle are the issues 
families across this Country face in their everyday lives.
    I want to welcome Senators Hickenlooper, Lujan, and 
Marshall, who will be joining us on this Committee, and I look 
forward to welcoming all of our new Members soon.
    Also, given that Senator Warren will be leaving the 
Committee, before she does, I just want to say she has been a 
powerful voice in this room for families in Massachusetts and 
nationwide. We will miss her at these hearings, but I know that 
even though she is leaving our Committee, she will continue to 
be a champion for patients and parents, children, students, 
borrowers, workers, retirees, and families across the Country. 
And I look forward myself to continuing to work with her to 
make progress and expand access to quality, affordable 
childcare; ensure healthcare is a right, not a privilege; give 
every student the opportunity to grow and thrive; reduce 
student debt; empower workers; and so much more.
    Finally, before we begin, I do want to recognize my partner 
across the dais, Ranking Member Burr, and welcome him to this 
new role. Senator Burr and I have had positive conversations 
about how this Committee can continue its long history of 
working together to address issues critical to the American 
people.
    I look forward to working with all of you, from both sides 
of the aisle, as we address the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic 
crisis facing many, and so many other critical issues. I hope 
today is the beginning of a productive, next chapter for this 
Committee, building on our bipartisan history, where we work 
together to bring nominees and legislation through this 
Committee and onto the Senate floor. I look forward to our 
partnership, Senator Burr, and I welcome our new Members to the 
Committee and hope to hear about your priorities in the days 
ahead.
    I also would like to specifically thank Senator Burr for 
his willingness to work with me so that we could schedule 
today's hearing with Dr. Cardona and tomorrow's hearing with 
Mayor Walsh.
    Dr. Cardona, thank you for joining us, and I would like to 
welcome your wife, Marissa, as well. I am glad she could be 
here with you today, and I know your children are watching, as 
well. They must be very proud.
    President Biden announced his intent to nominate Dr. 
Cardona on December 22, 2020. The Committee received Dr. 
Cardona's HELP Committee paperwork on January 15, and his 
Office of Government Ethics paperwork, including his public 
financial disclosure and ethics agreement, on January 20. His 
formal nomination also arrived January 20, 2021.
    Dr. Cardona, we have not met yet in person, but I am very 
much looking forward to meeting with you in the future, and I 
know we will be working a lot together, both virtually and in 
person when we can. I am excited to start working with you and 
the Biden-Harris administration to serve public schools, 
colleges, students, borrowers, educators, and families across 
our Country. And I hope to work with my colleagues here in 
Congress to confirm you as quickly as possible, given the 
urgency of this pandemic and its impact on our students, all 
the ways former President Trump's utter failure to handle have 
put us behind, and the longstanding inequities this crisis has 
exacerbated.
    Under the Trump administration, tests and PPE were hard to 
get. Federal guidance was politically motivated and unclear, 
and the path to safely reopening schools in person was chaotic 
and uncertain. Families are now counting on us to get things on 
track, fast. The stories I have heard from Washington State 
made clear how desperately we need a secretary who will work 
with students, parents and caregivers, educators and school 
administrators, state, local, and tribal officials, and public 
health officials, to help our schools safely reopen for in-
person learning.
    I heard from a mother in Yakima, whose children are sharing 
one iPhone to learn. I heard from a father of a high school 
freshman in Spokane, who is worried about the social and 
psychological toll the pandemic is taking on his son. And I 
heard about students from the Lummi Nation, who are trying to 
focus on remote classes while in multi-generational households 
on shared, spotty broadband. And I know there are so many 
similar stories from people in my state and across the entire 
Country.
    Our students and our schools are in crisis, and every day 
without an experienced leader at the Department of Education is 
a day we are losing precious ground. We know the pandemic is 
setting back learning for all students and compounding long-
standing inequities in our education system. Reports estimate 
that, compared to a typical year, this pandemic has set back 
learning by 1 to 3 months for White students, and 3 to 5 months 
for students of color.
    We know remote classes can make learning more difficult, 
impossible even, for the one in four students who have no 
access to the internet at home. And families of color are 
significantly more likely to experience limited internet and 
device inaccessibility. We know many students have lost access 
to critical resources, like mental health services and school 
meals, and school counselors and extracurricular activities, 
and much more.
    The pain of this pandemic is not felt equally. Instead, it 
is deepening systemic inequities that were already incredibly 
damaging for students of color, students from families with low 
incomes, students with disabilities, women, English learners, 
students who are experiencing homelessness, and many others.
    For those pursuing higher education, it has not only 
disrupted classrooms and dorms. It has upended our economy, 
making it harder for students already stretching their budgets 
to pay tuition or rent, or pay for food and other basic needs.
    For parents across the Country, it is also exacerbating our 
longstanding childcare crisis, making things that much harder 
for them and their children.
    We desperately need more funding and resources for schools, 
like education relief that President Biden called for in his 
American Rescue Plan.
    We need clear and actionable guidance for schools working 
to safely reopen for in-person learning.
    We need more direct financial assistance for students, 
including student debt relief, and a Secretary of Education who 
is ready to tackle all of this and more on day one.
    Given Dr. Cardona's background, there is no question he is 
ready for these challenges. And after 4 years of a Secretary of 
Education who had no experience in public education, I am 
thrilled to have a nominee before us who is a former elementary 
school teacher, a former adjunct professor, a former principal, 
and a former assistant superintendent. As a former preschool 
teacher myself, I know firsthand how valuable that classroom 
perspective is when working on these issues.
    Dr. Cardona will not just bring much-needed teaching 
experience to the Department, but also invaluable personal 
experience. As an English-language learner himself, Dr. Cardona 
knows that all students can succeed when given access to a high 
quality, public education. And he has spent his whole career 
working to ensure every student can reach their full potential, 
no matter the language they speak, or their zip code, or 
income, or race, or ethnicity, their gender, their sexual 
orientation, or their disability.
    As assistant superintendent, Dr. Cardona showed new 
teachers around the community's economically disparate 
neighborhoods to help them understand the students that they 
served.
    During this pandemic, he has continued to center the needs 
of students facing inequities in his work as Connecticut's 
Education Commissioner. Under his leadership, Connecticut 
became the first state in the Nation to ensure every one of its 
public school students has access to a laptop and a high-speed 
internet connection to engage in remote learning.
    Dr. Cardona is a proven collaborative leader. He is a 
champion for public schools, and he is an excellent choice to 
lead the Department of Education through the challenges ahead.
    Challenges, like meeting President Biden's goal of safely 
reopening the majority of our K through 8 schools for in-person 
learning within his first 100 days of office.
    Challenges, like addressing learning loss due to COVID, 
which means fulfilling our moral imperative to measure 
students' academic, social, and emotional needs, and provide 
with substantial resources and guidance that states and school 
districts require to address them, and the many challenges that 
existed long before COVID-19 struck, but have become so much 
more severe through this pandemic.
    We need to address the inequities permeating our education 
system, from early education through higher education, that 
make it much harder for students of color, students from 
families with low incomes, and many others to succeed. And that 
starts with long-overdue efforts to address inequitable school 
funding and inaccess to high-quality and rigorous curriculum, 
racial and socioeconomic school segregation, the use of 
seclusion and restraint, the school-to-prison pipeline, and 
more.
    We also need to make sure every child can benefit from pre-
K and early learning experiences that set them up for success.
    We need to address the student debt crisis and provide 
student loan borrowers with relief by continuing the freeze on 
payments and interest President Biden extended, and helping 
borrowers to reduce their debt.
    We need to overhaul our financial aid system, implementing 
reforms we recently passed in Congress, making it simpler for 
students and families to get help, and ensuring student loan 
companies meet high standards of service and transparency.
    We need to make sure higher education is affordable so cost 
never prevents a student from going to college, and so every 
student can make ends meet while attending school, and make a 
living without being crushed by student debt after they leave.
    We need to make higher education accessible so every 
person, especially students of color, students with low 
incomes, students with disabilities, and others traditionally 
left out of higher education can find the opportunity that is 
right for them, be it a community college or a 4-year college 
or university, including minority-serving institutions, or a 
workforce training program or apprenticeship.
    We need to make sure higher education is accountable so 
every student is protected from bad actors, like predatory, 
for-profit colleges, empowered with better information about 
college outcomes, and provided the support they need to receive 
their degree.
    We need to make sure every campus is safe from infectious 
disease outbreaks, from gun violence, and from bullying, 
harassment, and sexual assaults.
    In short, we have a lot of work to do. We have an excellent 
candidate to help us get it done, and we have no time to waste. 
Any Senator who has heard from a parent who wants to get their 
child back to the classroom safely, and I am sure everyone here 
has, should vote to advance and confirm Dr. Cardona without 
hesitation. And I am hopeful when the time comes, they will do 
just that.
    Finally, I would like to ask unanimous consent to enter 
into the record 37 letters of support for Dr. Cardona's 
nomination for Education Secretary, signed by over 400 
individuals and groups representing educators, school 
administrators, civil rights organizations, non-profits, and a 
bipartisan group of Governors. So ordered.
    [The information referred to can be found on page 50]
    The Chair pro tempore. I now recognize Senator Burr to give 
his opening remarks.
    Senator Burr, welcome.

                   OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR BURR

    Senator Burr. Well, Madam Chair, I thank you. I look 
forward to working with you specifically this session of 
Congress. I am grateful to my colleagues, maybe a little 
premature than what the timing had, that we will organize at 
some point today, and hopefully I will be the Ranking Member of 
this Committee.
    This Committee has a great history of bipartisanship, and I 
expect that will continue. Patty Murray and I have a history of 
working together to run the Veterans Affairs Committee, so this 
is not new for the two of us, and I look forward to continuing 
to build on the relationship we already have.
    My main priority for this Committee is healthcare. We 
should all, Senators, staff, and the Administration, anticipate 
spending more time than we can imagine today on the response to 
COVID-19, and to make sure that we are better prepared for the 
next one. This includes looking at supply chains and making 
sure that we make in the United States what we need, not 
through burdensome requirements, but through incentives.
    We also need to work to make sure the United States 
Research Enterprise is aware of and better prepared for the 
threats of our enemies.
    We need to continue to prioritize and enable and 
incentivizing private sector innovation. We have seen what the 
private sector can do. A vaccine developed and authorized less 
than a year after a novel virus was discovered should become 
the norm and not the exception. FDA has shown incredible speed 
and flexibility, and the FDA user fee reauthorization 
discussion later this Congress is a good chance to examine how 
the speed and flexibility can help in the fight against serious 
conditions with no treatments that exist today. If we can speed 
bureaucracy up and not abandon the gold standard of safety and 
efficacy, with as much money as the FDA already has, I want to 
know why we cannot have that be the new baseline expectations.
    We will need to conduct vigorous oversight. While I am sure 
that many of my Democratic friends will just want to blame the 
last administration for every problem that exists, and we know 
they made their share of mistakes, but we also need to dig 
deeper into the laws and agencies that we created to see what 
works and what needs to be fixed. For example, if it was not 
for cultural arrogance of the bureaucracy at the CDC, we might 
have had diagnostic tests a lot sooner than we did in this 
Country. We need to fix the problem that has been exposed, not 
just blame the last group that were here.
    I hope to be able to be a partner in getting President 
Biden's cabinet quickly operational, with fair, qualified 
candidates who have submitted the necessary paperwork and forms 
for the Office of Government Ethics in the timeframe that 
Senator Murray and her colleagues requested of President 
Trump's nominees. We will not always agree on which nominees 
meet these goals, and I think you will see the differences in 
who we have asked this week and who is testifying before us 
next week.
    Now, turning to Dr. Cardona. Welcome. Welcome to you, to 
your wife, Marissa, to your children, who are in the annex 
behind us. And I am told that they are going to come out when 
you start your testimony. I do not want them to miss it live 
and in person, and we can adhere to the separation guidelines 
and have them over there. I also want to welcome your parents, 
who I understand are--did not make the trip because of COVID, 
but they will be watching this on TV. Your entire family, I 
know, is proud of this nomination.
    The fact that you have been asked to lead the Department of 
Education at a very challenging time is daunting for anybody. 
You have had a meteoric rise from a classroom teacher to a 
principal, to a superintendent, from a small State of 
Connecticut. You should be proud of that, and I am glad the 
President has nominated you for this position.
    Millions of children are stuck at home trying to learn. 
Parents are at their wits' end, and the adults running public 
schools across the Country are failing to actually follow the 
science and open schools safely. CDC experts just released a 
paper in the Journal of American Medical Association on January 
26 that said this, and I quote. The preponderance of available 
evidence from the fall school semester has been reassuring in 
as far as the type of rapid spread that was frequently observed 
in congregate living facilities or high-density worksites has 
not been reported in an education setting in schools, unquote.
    That says to me that we should be seriously talking about 
reopening schools as quickly as possible. That is what the 
science tells us and, quite frankly, that is what students and 
parents need.
    The CDC experts went on to say, and I quote, all 
recommended mitigation measures in schools must continue: 
requiring universal face mask use, increasing physical 
distancing by de-densifying classrooms and common areas, using 
hybrid attendance models when needed to limit the number of 
contacts and prevent crowding, increasing room ventilation, and 
expanding screening testing to rapidly identify and isolate 
asymptomatic infected individuals.
    In the five COVID bills we passed last year, Congress has 
provided over $67 billion for K through 12, and $36 billion for 
higher education. That is in addition to the regular 
appropriated dollars for these activities, and that is also on 
top of the hundreds of billions of dollars from state and local 
sources.
    We need schools to open safely and to stay open safely. 
While that was considered partisan and dangerous when some 
suggested it last year, since President Biden won and over a 
million vaccines from Operation Warp Speed being delivered 
daily, more folks have changed their tune. And I welcome that 
change. COVID-19-related school closures have led to 
significant learning loss, and we need to get caught up and 
help all our students.
    But, one-size-fits-all requirements from Washington will 
only further hurt the situation. So, I hope that you will 
refrain from the mistake so many have made of your 
predecessors, which is that just because you have a good idea, 
that does not mean everybody should follow it based upon the 
makeup of their school systems.
    Even school districts--each school district, college, 
university, community college, state and community, faces a 
different pandemic in a different circumstance. Trying to treat 
them as a monolith instead of providing flexible advice for 
states and localities to use, if applicable and useful, would 
be a mistake.
    I hope you will follow the examples of Richard Riley and 
Lamar Alexander, both Governors, and one the former Chairman of 
this Committee, and recognize that you cannot run a Nation's 
schools or colleges from Washington, DC, but we can inspire 
them and we can help them.
    Finally, we are going to have to have an adult conversation 
about academic testing for this school year. While we do need 
to know how much educational harm has happened, I am not sure 
that the Federal accountability system and existing state tests 
are the right thing at this moment.
    I understand the Department of Education sent a letter last 
week to chief state school officers, saying the previous 
February 1 deadline for seeking waivers was being extended. 
However, it did not set a new deadline. I hope that you and my 
colleagues in Senate are willing to engage in a conversation 
about whether we need to pause for one year the accountability 
and testing requirements as we grapple with the pandemic.
    I also want to caution you, and especially some of the 
staff that will show up at the Department, that the law does 
not give you the authority to impose a bunch of conditions on 
states seeking waivers. Some of your predecessors thought that 
they could use the need for waivers to bully states into 
submission on some of their preferred policy objectives that 
were not in the law. The law does not allow you to do that, or 
any secretary of education, and I hope, Commissioner, you will 
respect those limitations.
    Let me turn to student loans for one minute. Last year, 
Congress acted to pause loan repayments for all borrowers as we 
grappled with coronavirus. Then, the Trump administration, now 
the Biden administration, have extended the pause so borrowers 
have a certain certainty for a long time.
    But, I am not eager to see the Biden administration pursue 
dangerous and foolhardy proposals to simply forgive student 
loans. The claims that some--by some that the Higher Education 
Act allows this would stretch the law beyond recognition. I 
hope that you and the White House do not pursue that.
    Instead, I invite you to work with Republicans and 
Democrats in Senate to pass legislation that dramatically 
simplifies student loan repayment options, allows borrowers to 
pay whatever they can reasonably afford, capped at 10 percent 
of their discretionary income, and have their loan forgiven 
after 20 years. This is bipartisan legislation that I have 
previously introduced with Senator Angus King, and I am sure we 
would be happy to work with the Administration and you to pass 
this into law in the next 100 days. But, I will oppose any 
effort to simply move debt from borrowers onto taxpayers.
    In conclusion, I plan to conduct rigorous oversight, 
especially on the response of COVID-19, and will ask fair but 
difficult and probing questions on the decisions that you make 
and the way the agency operates. You would expect that from an 
oversight committee. I will expect honest, complete, and timely 
answers. I hope you can commit to working with me on that.
    Commissioner Cardona, I expect by the end of this hearing, 
I will be able to support your nomination, and I will encourage 
all of my colleagues on my side to support you, as well, and to 
move as expeditiously to have you sworn in as the next 
Secretary of Education. I look forward to working with you.
    I thank the Madam Chair.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much, Senator Burr.
    We will now move to Dr. Cardona and our colleague, Senator 
Blumenthal, has joined us today to help introduce Dr. Cardona. 
I will recognize him first, followed by Senator Murphy.
    Senator Blumenthal, welcome.
    Senator Blumenthal. Thank you, Madam Chair, and Ranking 
Member Burr. I am so deeply honored and excited and proud to be 
here today to introduce Dr. Miguel Cardona, President Biden's 
nominee for Secretary of Education. Indeed, it is one of the 
proudest and most exciting of my days in the U.S. Senate.
    I have known Dr. Cardona and his family for many years, 
watched him rise. His rise has been indeed meteoric. It is the 
stuff of legend, almost mythical, except it is based on real 
hard work and solid values gained from his parents. As he told 
me just moments ago, when one member of his family does well, 
all do well. And I think that kind of ethic is one he will 
bring to his job as Secretary of Education.
    He is a proud son of Meriden, Connecticut, a proud son of 
our public education in Meriden, of higher education, public 
education in Connecticut, two institutions of higher learning--
Central Connecticut State University and the University of 
Connecticut--and he is a passionate advocate of English as an 
English language learner.
    His entire career is living proof that there are no limits 
to what anyone can achieve, regardless of what their language 
is as a first language. And I am absolutely certain that he 
will be as distinguished a Secretary of Education as he was an 
assistant superintendent, as well as a fourth grade teacher, 
commissioner of education. We are going to miss him in 
Connecticut for all the reasons that he will add such value and 
be so extraordinarily distinguished and committed to learning 
and teaching.
    The main point I think about Dr. Cardona is in fact that he 
is dedicated with every fiber of his being to learning and 
teaching, and he will be a staunch and steadfast advocate and 
leader.
    He will be an advocate for disadvantaged students, who are 
in danger of being left behind in this pandemic.
    He will be an advocate for teachers, who are stressed and 
strained during this time as never before, who are such great 
public servants, along with school administrators, in gaining 
new opportunity for the next generation.
    He will be an advocate for parents who are concerned and 
overwhelmed managing their children's schooling, as well as 
their own work, and their families.
    Most important, he will be an advocate for students--
students at every level, including students who are drowning in 
student debt that has left their financial futures crippled and 
deter their gaining access to better jobs and futures.
    He is a proven leader. He knows how to listen. And he also 
knows the importance of students returning to school, but doing 
it safely, and the critical importance of making sure that 
vaccines are widely available, putting vaccines into the arms 
of more people, and putting students and teachers back in the 
classroom are priorities that we can all share, and doing it 
safely.
    Finally, let me just say that he is a leader of courage and 
conviction. He will restore integrity and professionalism at 
the top levels of the Department of Education, and he will do 
it with a caring and compassion, as well as a toughness of mind 
and a clear-eyed courage that have characterized his career 
beginning from his days as a student and going through to his 
serving as Commissioner of Education. Connecticut is solidly 
behind him, and I think that we will miss him, but I am sure 
that Connecticut's pride will be mirrored by his accomplishment 
as Secretary of Education.
    I want to thank the Chairman and you, Ranking Member, for 
this honor and opportunity to introduce him today, and to share 
the pride that his wife, Marissa, his two children, who are 
here watching, and I am sure his parents, as well, feel for his 
tremendous accomplishments in this role.
    Thank you very, very much.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator Blumenthal.
    Senator Murphy.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you, Madam Chair, thank you, Ranking 
Member Burr, for giving us the opportunity to introduce our 
friend, Miguel Cardona.
    If you are from Meriden, you know the Cardona family. The 
Cardona family are in some ways a typical and in some ways an 
extraordinary American family--a family that eats, sleeps, and 
breathes to make its community better. And while today the 
whole Country is learning about Miguel Cardona, it frankly is 
his gregarious police officer father with his trademark 
handlebar mustache, Hector, who often draws the most attention 
in Meriden.
    I cannot remember exactly where I first met Miguel, but I 
am going to guess it was at the city's Puerto Rican festival. 
Connecticut has one of the largest, proudest Puerto Rican 
communities in America, and Meriden is home to thousands of 
families. But, its cultural festival had hit hard times. There 
were years where there were only a couple hundred people 
showing up, until the Cardona family took the festival over.
    Each summer, now, you can find Miguel and his family 
speeding around the festival in their golf carts, organizing 
children's activities, checking on vendors, organizing bus 
transportation. Now, 8,000 people a year come to Meriden to 
this festival because Miguel and his family not only care about 
their community, but because they are willing to do something 
about it.
    It will not surprise you to learn why Miguel's professional 
career has been this rocket ship ride that has been referred 
to, advancing so quickly from classroom teacher, to principal, 
to assistant superintendent, to state commissioner, to this 
nomination.
    At Israel Putnam Elementary, Miguel, on a starting 
teacher's salary, fished $450 out of his pocket to make sure 
that his kids had the supplies they needed. He was relentless 
in teaching his students to refuse to let socioeconomic 
obstacles block their dreams and their progress. And, so, it 
was no surprise that he was named the state's youngest school 
principal a few short years after he started teaching.
    As principal, it also will not surprise you to know that he 
was one of those principals that knew every kid's name, knew 
every kid's story. He dressed up as a conductor for Polar 
Express Day. He performed with his students at holiday 
concerts, and he relentlessly built a community of teachers, 
students, and parents. He led by example.
    The promotions kept coming. He tackled teacher diversity as 
assistant superintendent in Meriden. He championed the cause of 
replacing draconian exclusionary school discipline policies 
with restorative justice practices. And, as has been mentioned, 
as our state's commissioner, he led the effort to reopen 
Connecticut's schools earlier than most people thought was 
possible, and he did it in a way that did not divide teachers 
from students and parents.
    Miguel Cardona keeps getting asked to do bigger things for 
a reason. He has a servant's heart, an immovable moral compass, 
a refusal to take no for an answer, and a unique talent for 
consensus building, something that will be essential in this 
job. He is going to make a great Secretary of Education, and I 
am so glad to join Senator Blumenthal in expressing 
Connecticut's pride and support for him today.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator Murphy.
    Dr. Cardona, welcome. Thank you so much for being here 
today. We are looking forward now to hearing from you, so you 
can begin your testimony. Thank you.

         STATEMENT OF HON. MIGUEL CARDONA, MERIDEN, CT

    Dr. Cardona. Madam Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, 
distinguished Members of the Committee, it is an honor to 
appear before you today as the President's nominee to serve as 
Secretary of Education.
    Thank you, Senator Blumenthal and Senator Murphy, for your 
kind words and support.
    Soy Miguel Cardona, husband of Marissa, and proud father of 
Miguel, Junior and Celine. Son of Hector and Sarah Cardona, and 
brother to Hector, Junior and Marisol. Their role in my life 
has shaped my preparation for today, today's hearing, as much 
as any degree or professional experience I have had. While the 
pandemic has prevented them from--all of them from joining me 
in the room today, I carry their presence in every word I 
speak.
    We are here today in the midst of one of the most 
challenging school years in American history. For far too many 
of our students, this year has piled on crisis after crisis. As 
a parent and as an educator, I have lived those challenges 
alongside millions of families. The burden on educators and 
families has been tremendous, taking a toll on the mental 
health and well-being of our children, our parents, our 
educators, and staff. Fewer students started college this fall, 
and those declines were most striking at community colleges, 
institutions that have long served as entry points to higher 
education and economic mobility for so many.
    Our Nation's educational challenges did not begin with the 
pandemic, but it has exacerbated inequities in our educational 
system. These inequities will endure, and they will prevent the 
potential of this Country, unless tackled head on. And it is 
so--and, so, it is our responsibility, and it would be my 
greatest privilege, if confirmed, to forge opportunity out of 
this crisis.
    As Americans, we have always risen to the challenge to 
solve problems and create a brighter future for our students. 
This was true for my family when my parents--my grandparents, 
Aveline and Maria Cardona, and Germana Muniz, traveled from the 
beautiful city of Aguada, Puerto Rico to find new opportunities 
in the Silver city of Meriden, Connecticut.
    It was true when my parents, Hector and Sarah, taught me to 
dream big and to aim high. Their own hard work empowered me to 
expand my horizons and become the first in my family to 
graduate college. While we did not always have a lot of 
material possessions, I was born rich. This perseverance turned 
into gratitude when I became a teacher, a principal, a district 
leader in the very same community that gave me so much as a 
child.
    For me, education opened doors. That is the power and the 
promise of America, but it is not a promise kept for every 
student. If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I will work 
tirelessly to make sure our education system is a door to 
opportunity, a great equalizer for every student.
    We will work to reopen schools safely so that students can 
return to classrooms.
    We will remove silos in education, sharing our 
breakthroughs and successes throughout our Country, and 
cultivating schools and colleges as places of innovation.
    We will make sure that when students graduate from high 
school, they have college and career pathways to good futures.
    We will make sure--we will make college accessible to every 
student who seeks opportunity through education, including 
strengthening this Nation's best-kept secret--community 
colleges.
    We will ensure that dedicated teachers, paraeducators, 
principals, superintendents, and committed higher education 
faculty are recognized for their great contribution to this 
Country.
    We will boldly address educational inequities head on and 
hold ourselves accountable for providing equitable outcomes 
from pre-kindergarten through college and into adult learning.
    Investing in public education changes lives and it saves 
lives. I have seen it and I have lived it. And I know our 
challenges ahead are problems that we can overcome together.
    As a saying in Spanish goes, En la union esta la fuerza. In 
unity, there is strength. We gain strength from joining 
together. And, like our schools, we gain strength when we 
create a culture of community.
    That is why, if confirmed, I look forward to sitting at the 
table with the vast, diverse community of people who have a 
stake in education--students, parents, teachers, caregivers, 
advocates, and state, local, and tribal leaders, and the 
dedicated career staff at the Department. Their voices matter.
    I can think of no higher calling than working to build a 
better, more equal future for the next generation. I have the 
same dreams for all of the students in our Country as I do for 
my own Angelito and Celine.
    I am grateful for the chance to take on this 
responsibility, and I am grateful for your time today. I am 
grateful to President Biden and Vice President Harris for 
placing their trust in me.
    In closing, as your nominee, I am first a husband of a 
family school liaison, a father of two public high schoolers, 
an educator, and most importantly, a student advocate.
    If confirmed, I look forward to getting to work on behalf 
of all students and working with you to build a future of 
promise and opportunity for the next generation.
    Thank you, and I look forward to answering any questions 
you may have.
    [The prepared statement of Dr. Cardona follows:]
                  prepared statement of miguel cardona
    Madam Chair Murray, Ranking Member Burr, distinguished Members of 
the Committee:

    It's an honor to appear before you today as the President's nominee 
to serve as Secretary of Education.

    Soy Miguel Cardona, husband of Marissa and proud father of Miguel 
Jr. and Celine. Son of Hector and Sarah Cardona, and brother to Hector 
Jr and Marisol. Their role in my life has shaped my preparation for 
today's hearing as much as any degree or professional experience I've 
had. While the pandemic prevented all of them joining me in the room 
today, I carry their presence in every word I speak.

    We're here today in the midst of one of the most challenging school 
years in American history. For far too many of our students, this year 
has piled on crisis after crisis. As a parent, and as an educator, I 
have lived those challenges alongside millions of families.

    The burden on educators and families has been tremendous: taking a 
toll on the mental health and well-being of our children, parents, 
educators, and staff. Fewer students started college this fall, and 
those declines were most striking at community colleges--institutions 
that have long served as entry points to higher education and economic 
mobility for so many.

    Our nation's education challenges didn't begin with the pandemic, 
but it has exacerbated inequities in our educational system.

    These inequities will endure, and prevent the potential of this 
great country, unless tackled head-on. And so it is our responsibility, 
and it would be my greatest privilege, if confirmed, to forge 
opportunity out of this crisis.

    As Americans, we have always risen to the challenge to solve 
problems and create a brighter future for our children. This was true 
for my family, when my grandparents Avelino, Maria, and Germana 
travelled from Aguada, Puerto Rico to find new opportunities in the 
Silver city of Meriden, Connecticut.

    It was true when my parents, Hector and Sara Cardona, taught me to 
dream big and aim high. Their own hard work empowered me to expand my 
horizons and become the first in my family to graduate college. While 
we didn't always have a lot of material possessions, I was born rich. 
This perseverance turned into gratitude when I became a teacher, 
principal, and district leader in the very same community that gave me 
so much as a child.

    For me, education opened doors. That is the power and promise of 
America--but it is not a promise kept for every student.

    If I am fortunate enough to be confirmed, I will work tirelessly to 
make sure our education system is a door to opportunity, a great 
equalizer, for every American:

          We will work to reopen schools safely, so that 
        students can return to classrooms.

          We will remove silos in education, sharing our 
        breakthroughs and successes throughout our country, and 
        cultivating schools and colleges as places of innovation.

          We will make sure that when students graduate from 
        high school, they have college and career pathways to good 
        futures.

          We will make college accessible to every student who 
        seeks opportunity through education, including strengthening 
        this Nation's best-kept secret: community colleges.

          We will ensure the dedicated teachers, paraeducators, 
        principals, superintendents, and committed higher education 
        faculty are recognized for their contribution to this country.

          We will boldly address educational inequities head-on 
        and hold ourselves accountable for providing equitable outcomes 
        from pre-kindergarten through college and into adult learning.

    Investing in public education changes lives and saves lives. I've 
seen it. I've lived it. And I know that our challenges ahead are 
problems we can overcome together.

    There is a saying in Spanish: En la union esta la fuerza. In unity 
there is strength.

    We gain strength from joining together.

    Like our schools, we gain strength when we create a culture of 
community. That is why, if confirmed, I look forward to sitting at the 
table with the vast, diverse community of people who have a stake in 
education--students, parents, teachers, caregivers, advocates, and 
state, local, tribal leaders and the dedicated career staff at the 
department. Their voices matter!

    I can think of no higher calling than working to build a better, 
more equal future for the next generation. I have the same dreams for 
all students in our country as I do for my own Angelito and Celine.

    I am grateful for the chance to take on this responsibility. I'm 
grateful for your time today. I'm grateful to President Biden and Vice 
President Harris for placing their trust in me.

    In closing: As your nominee, I am first a husband of a family 
school liaison, a father of two public high schoolers, an educator, and 
most importantly, a student advocate.

    If confirmed, I look forward to getting to work on behalf of all 
students--and working with you to build a future of promise and 
opportunity for the next generation.

    Thank you, and I look forward to answering any questions you may 
have.
                                 ______
                                 
    The Chair pro tempore. Dr. Cardona, thank you very much. We 
all appreciate that.
    We will now begin a round of 5-minute questions, and I 
would just ask my colleagues to keep track of your clock, if 
you would. Stay within those 5 minutes so we can respect 
everyone's time. And I am very happy to stay if anyone has 
additional questions, if we want a second round for anyone.
    Dr. Cardona, the COVID-19 pandemic is really having a 
profound impact on students. Abrupt school closures, lack of 
access to high-quality, remote learning or a conducive learning 
environment, educator layoffs, and general chaos and confusion 
has really severely disrupted student learning. So, we have a 
big job ahead of us to help support our students, our 
educators, and our schools respond to and recover from this 
pandemic, and that starts with providing schools and colleges 
with the resources they need to reopen safely for in-person 
learning.
    I was pleased to see President Biden's plan call for 
significantly more funding. It also demands strong Federal 
leadership to accomplish that goal. But, we have a long road 
ahead.
    Dr. Cardona, as Connecticut's Commissioner of Education, 
you have been working every day for the past year to address 
the needs of students and their families during this pandemic. 
Talk to us about how your experience in Connecticut informs 
your work as Secretary of Education in navigating the COVID-19 
response.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, Senator Murray. I 
want to acknowledge the fact that, as a Country, we are 
experiencing some trauma together. And serving as Commissioner 
of Education in Connecticut has provided the opportunity for me 
to be in a position to help lead with amazing partners at the 
agency and throughout the state in the reopening of our 
schools.
    Through these last 10 months, I have been able to listen to 
parents, students, educators, and we all want to make sure we 
can get our students back into schools safely.
    Some of the strategies that we took in Connecticut that 
were very clear were to make sure that we relied very closely 
on the science.
    We partnered with our public health experts in the state 
and created a system of communication that was regular and 
intentional.
    We were open and transparent with what we knew, and we made 
sure that we partnered with our health experts to put out very 
clear guidance early on to make sure that the mitigation 
strategies were very clear, to make sure that we talked about 
how to safely reopen schools, and how to provide the students 
the access to learning if they had to learn remotely. We 
partnered together.
    I look forward to, if I am fortunate enough to serve as 
Secretary of Education, to bring that same mentality of 
partnership and clear communication to help recover our public 
education and reopen our schools.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much. One of my 
greatest concerns about the pandemic's impact on students is 
learning loss, particularly for students who face systemic 
barriers, including students of color, students from families 
with low incomes, LGBTQIA students, students with disabilities, 
and English learners. And the pandemic has really further 
widened the achievement gaps in this Country.
    Dr. Cardona, if you are confirmed as secretary, how would 
you support states and school districts in identifying and 
addressing learning loss among all students?
    Dr. Cardona. Okay, and thank you for that question. This 
learning loss is something that we are all grappling with. But, 
before I get into that, I want to acknowledge our students have 
shown us a level of resilience that I don't think we have ever 
seen in history before. Our students have really risen to the 
occasion and really adapted in ways that are inspiring to me, 
as an educator and as a father.
    But, we know that--and especially in many communities that 
do not have great resources, students have not had access to 
quality learning, or have had interrupted learning. So, we have 
to make sure that we identify those practices that we know are 
effective at meeting students where they are.
    We know that with proper support and funding, we can offer 
extended learning opportunities for students, extended summer 
school options to help students recover some of that loss. And 
we have to make sure that the materials that we put in front of 
our students are high-quality materials so that our students 
are able to benefit the most from any intervention or access to 
learning that they get moving forward.
    We need to do this not only by providing strong remote 
access and quality materials there, but ensuring that we are 
doing everything in our power to safely reopen schools. There 
is no substitute for a classroom experience for our students 
being in front of their teacher. There is no substitute for 
that. So, we have to do everything we can to safely reopen 
schools in a manner that gets the students back into their 
learning environment.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much. I will turn the 
questions over to Dr. Burr--or to Senator Burr at this point.
    Senator.
    Senator Burr. Thank you, Madam Chair. You can call me 
Doctor if you would like to.
    [Laughter.]
    The Chair pro tempore. Sorry.
    Senator Burr. Dr. Cardona, again, welcome to you and to 
your family.
    On January 12, the Fairfax Education Association in 
Virginia tweeted at you that schools should not reopen until 
all staff and students had received a vaccine. Do you agree 
with the Fairfax Education Association on this?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator. I recognize the 
frustration and distrust and fear that is out there. And, if 
confirmed as Secretary of Education, I will do everything in my 
power to make sure that our rollout strategy for reopening 
schools includes communication on how to safely reopen schools, 
and I think that needs to include increased surveillance 
testing for our educators and a prioritization of our educators 
for vaccination.
    Senator Burr. But, just to be clear, to safely open a 
school and to safely keep a school open, it does not require 
that 100 percent of the participants be vaccinated to 
accomplish that?
    Dr. Cardona. We have examples--and I know in Connecticut we 
have many examples, but we have great examples throughout our 
Country of schools that are able to reopen safely and do so 
while following mitigation strategies. While I recognize that 
is the case, I do believe that making sure surveillance testing 
is something that we focus on as well.
    Senator Burr. Thank you. Should teachers be prioritized for 
vaccination? And when I use the term teachers, does that 
include public and private school teachers together?
    Dr. Cardona. I use the term educators. There are so many 
members of the school community that contribute to making the 
school successful. So, our educators should be prioritized for 
vaccination rollout, especially as we work to maintain our 
schools open. And we have to keep in mind, also, that reopening 
schools is not just about the next month or two. If we want to 
keep them reopened, we have to make sure that we are properly 
testing our teachers and educators and prioritizing them for 
vaccination, keeping an eye on the variants and the different 
changes that might take place. I think it is a priority to 
provide testing and vaccination for our educators.
    Senator Burr. When you use the term educators, you are not 
separating between public and private?
    Dr. Cardona. All educators.
    Senator Burr. All educators.
    Dr. Cardona. Yes.
    Senator Burr. Thank you. States like Connecticut may want 
to pursue testing this year just to have some data to 
understand the learning loss problem they have on their hands. 
But, due to the validity and reliability issues of conducting 
testing remotely and in hybrid situations, testing experts say 
that the scores may not even be comparable to scores from 
before, or after, COVID-19.
    It really does not seem fair to include test scores in 
schools' performance accountability measures as required under 
the ESSA in state plans. Do you plan to waive the need to 
include scores in school accountability for state plans this 
year?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, sir. And I know 
that not only COVID testing, but assessments are an issue of 
concern and great debate. I speak to you now as a nominee. 
Obviously, I have not had any role in any policy development to 
this point. I can speak to you from the role of a commissioner.
    I know that validity of testing is critically important. 
And as a school principal, I remember making sure that 
assessment data was looked at only if it was valid and 
reliable. With that said, I don't think I am in favor of what 
you called earlier a one-size-fits-all if the conditions under 
COVID-19 prevent a student from being in school in person. I 
don't think we need to be bringing students in just to test 
them on a standardized test. I don't think that makes any 
sense.
    With that said, I do feel, sir, that if we don't assess 
where our students are and their level of performance, it is 
going to be difficult for us to provide some targeted support 
and our resource allocation in the manner that can best support 
the closing of the gaps that have been exacerbated due to this 
pandemic.
    Senator Burr. Do you feel that states should be able to 
decide whether they incorporate standardized testing this year 
given the circumstances of the pandemic?
    Dr. Cardona. I feel that states should not only have an 
opportunity to weigh in on how they plan on implementing it and 
what is best for their students, but also the accountability 
measures and whether or not those assessments should really be 
tied into any accountability measures, as well.
    Senator Burr. Doctor, I thank you.
    Madam Chair, I return the time.
    The Chair pro tempore. Alright. Senator Casey.
    Senator Casey. Madam Chair, thanks very much. I appreciate 
this opportunity to ask Dr. Cardona a question, but I wanted to 
start by commending our new Madam Chair, Senator Murray, and 
the Ranking Member, Senator Burr, for the way they opened this 
hearing today. We are grateful for their words today.
    Dr. Cardona, I want to start by commending you for the 
achievements in your life to date. I am not sure there are 
many, if any, secretaries of education who have served as not 
only a fourth grade teacher, but also a principal, as well as 
an assistant superintendent, and then finally as education 
commissioner. So, you are not only well-qualified, but I think 
your story is a great American story of hard work and 
sacrifice, and we are grateful that you are willing to put 
yourself forward for additional public service.
    I want to try to get to two issues. The first will take a 
little longer because it is a particular issue that affects 
students with disabilities, and the second is a question about 
early learning.
    But, let me start with the question regarding students with 
disabilities and this unique issue. Students with disabilities 
face significant barriers to entering and completing post-
secondary education. federally funded research found that 
students with learning disabilities attend college at half the 
rate of their peers without--who don't have disabilities, and 
are less likely to complete their programs.
    Two, students, we are told it is about one in four with 
learning disabilities inform their colleges that they have a 
disability, and many high school students with disabilities and 
their parents find the process to secure both accommodations 
and services in colleges both difficult and unclear.
    I have legislation with Senator Cassidy that would ease the 
transition by, among other things, ensuring institutions of 
higher education make information about requesting an 
accommodation both--transparent for both the prospective 
student, as well as current students. And, also, this 
legislation would ensure that proof of a disability in K 
through 12 education is sufficient to receive accommodations in 
higher education settings.
    President Biden's education agenda indicated he would 
increase funding for post-secondary programs that support 
students with disabilities and will direct the Department of 
Education to provide guidance to those post-secondary programs.
    I guess the two-part question here is, how will you ensure 
that students with disabilities have increased access to post-
secondary education? And second, how will you make sure that 
those higher education institutions are prepared to support and 
provide services to students with disabilities?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, Senator. I do 
acknowledge that, the dream of higher education or the goal of 
higher education is one that we have to expand in our Country, 
and it is one that I am committed to serving and working with 
you and others to learn more about and see how we can, at the 
agency, if confirmed, support that work.
    Helping students gain access to higher education is a 
process that does require coordination and collaboration with 
our pre-K-12 systems and our higher education systems. Clarity 
and communication and expectations, and really just a culture 
of not only looking at these students as students with 
disabilities, but looking at them as students with assets, 
students with great abilities who have to learn a certain way 
or require accommodations. So, I think that cultural shift is a 
prerequisite to any technical strategies.
    With that said, our agency would be poised to not only look 
for best practices across our Country of where they are doing 
it right and where they are finding success and sharing those 
best practices, but also ensuring that we are looking at how 
these universities are--what outcomes they are getting when 
serving students with disabilities. Making sure that we are 
partnering with them, but also keeping an eye on how our 
students with disabilities are faring in these colleges.
    Something that I am pretty passionate about, as well, and I 
look forward to working with you and others to learn more about 
it and see how we can support it. Thank you.
    Senator Casey. Thank you very much. And I know I am short 
on time, but I will just--maybe I will submit a longer question 
for the record. But, the question pertains to early education. 
I like to say that if kids learn more now, they are going to 
earn more later. I think all the evidence shows that.
    I will submit a question regarding expanding access to 
early learning, early care and learning, and also about the 
coordination between and among Federal Government agencies and 
programs. But, now that I am down to 6 seconds, I will leave 
that for a written question, or possibly in a second round. 
But, I know you have a broad experience in early learning and 
we will speak to that a little later.
    Thank you, Doctor.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you. I look forward to it.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator Casey.
    We will turn to Senator Collins.
    Senator Collins. Thank you, Madam Chair. I look forward to 
working with you and Ranking Member Burr this year.
    Dr. Cardona, I want to thank you for sharing your inspiring 
story with us today. I think it is a perfect role model for so 
many children in this Country.
    I also appreciate the time that you took to meet with me, 
and I want to bring up two issues that we touched on in those 
meetings.
    There is a lot of focus, and understandably so, in this 
Country on low-income children in large, urban schools. But, we 
also have a lot of low-income children in rural schools.
    Along with former Senator Kent Conrad, I authored the Rural 
Education Achievement Program, known as REAP. And in 2015, that 
program was reauthorized. It is the only direct Federal support 
for small, rural, low-income schools. For example, island 
schools off the coast of Maine have used it to buy technology 
to connect their students and enrich their learning experience.
    This program is really vital, yet last year the Department 
announced changes in the formula that was used to determine 
eligibility for the REAP Program. The result was that it would 
have abruptly eliminated funding for more than 100 rural, low-
income school districts in the State of Maine.
    When we talked one on one, I went into more detail about 
the devastating impact of this. I am seeking today, as you 
testify, your commitment to work with me to resolve the formula 
issue so that the rural, low-income students across our 
Country--it was not just in Maine that this eligibility 
changed, had this effect--will receive the funding that the 
REAP Program envisioned.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I 
recognize, and through the great conversation I had with you, 
the challenges that rural communities face, and I commit to 
looking at this very closely, if confirmed, and working with 
you and others to learn more about how these issues in rural 
communities really need more attention.
    I will tell you, during the pandemic, in a small State like 
Connecticut, we found that our rural communities were facing 
challenges that were different than urban centers, and they 
were equally as important. Connectivity was an issue.
    Senator Collins. Exactly.
    Dr. Cardona. Accessing high-quality content is only 
dependent on how well your signal is. So, I recall those 
conversations with parents and students and educators in the 
rural communities, and I recognize with--after the conversation 
with you and others the importance that this has in our 
Country, not only with the pandemic, but past the pandemic, 
making sure the needs of our students in rural communities are 
being met.
    I look forward to learning more about it from you and your 
colleagues, but also serving to do the best we can at the 
agency to make sure we are meeting the needs of those learners, 
as well.
    Senator Collins. Thank you. The second issue I want to 
bring up has to do with the TRIO programs, which I am a big 
supporter of, which help first-generation, disadvantaged 
students pursue higher education. And there are many incredibly 
dedicated people at the Department of Education. Let me make 
that clear.
    But, let me tell you what happened a few years ago. The 
Department made a very abrupt, bureaucratic decision, really 
embodies the worst of bureaucracy, that denied funding to an 
Upward Bound program in my state on the basis of a formatting 
problem in the application. And this was a spacing problem. 
Instead of being double spaced in a particular graph, it was 
one and a half spaces--that is how minor--and the University of 
Maine at Presque Isle was not given an opportunity to correct 
this.
    Well, the result of this would have been that more than 900 
students would have been denied access to the Upward Bound 
program over a 5-year program of the grant.
    I worked with other Senators. We--Senator Murray was one 
who also signed the letter. Senator Tester. There were many 
Senators on both sides of the aisle. We sent three letters to 
the Department saying, this is ridiculous. This is not--the 
format is not dictated by law. This is arbitrary. In the case 
of Maine's application, it was in a graph that was included in 
a 65-page application, and yet it was not even reviewed for the 
merits.
    Well, the Department only changed course after I added 
language to the appropriations bill. It should not have taken 
legislative language in an appropriations bill to get the 
Department to prioritize the needs of disadvantaged students 
participating in the Upward Bound program over bureaucratic 
formatting errors.
    I would just ask, again, for your commitment to make sure 
that we take a more commonsense approach and always remember 
that the students come first.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator. I commit not only to a 
strong partnership and ability to work with you, and I also 
want to commit, if confirmed, that our agency will be a service 
agency, making sure that our students' needs are at the 
forefront.
    Senator Collins. Thank you.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator Collins.
    Senator Warren.
    Senator Warren. Thank you, Madam Chair. And, Dr. Cardona, 
congratulations on your nomination.
    You were a first-generation college student, and for you 
and for me, an affordable college education opened a million 
doors. But, today, students face a very different situation, so 
I want to talk with you today about student debt.
    I know you know these facts, but I think it helps everyone 
if we could just talk about them for a few minutes. So, about 
43 million people--that is one in five adults in America--have 
Federal student loan debt. Is that right?
    Dr. Cardona. That is right.
    Senator Warren. Good. And this debt adds up to more than 
about a trillion and a half dollars. Now, about 40 percent of 
the people with student loan debt do not have a college degree. 
Can you just say a word about what that means for them?
    Dr. Cardona. Well, what it means is that because they don't 
have the college degree, maybe they don't have the income 
potential that they would have had if they had the degree, and 
paying these bills will be a larger task and probably a longer 
process.
    Senator Warren. [Inaudible]--debt.
    [Pause]
    Senator Warren. Dr. Cardona?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes. Can you hear me?
    [Pause]
    Dr. Cardona. I said that students that are not able to 
graduate and probably would have their income affected because 
they were not able to graduate and get the income potential, 
earning potential, that they would have had if they did. And 
they are probably in greater debt, and it may be more of a 
challenge to pay off their debt.
    [Pause]
    The Chair pro tempore. We may have lost Senator Warren. Is 
she--did we lose her video?
    [Pause]
    Senator Burr. Patty, I think we did lose Senator Warren.
    The Chair pro tempore. Okay. I believe we have lost Senator 
Warren. We will try and get back to you when you--is she there?
    Senator Warren.
    Senator Warren. I am here.
    The Chair pro tempore. Okay.
    Senator Warren. I am here.
    The Chair pro tempore. We lost you for a minute. Go ahead.
    [Pause]
    The Chair pro tempore. Okay. We seem--we seem to be having 
connection problems with Senator Warren. Let's see if we can 
fix that, and we will move to Senator Paul and then go back to 
her. Okay.
    Senator Paul. The Office of Civil Rights sent a letter to 
Connecticut saying that boys cannot compete with girls in 
sports, or they should not be forced to allow boys to compete 
in girls' sports. If you are confirmed, will you enforce that 
Office of Civil Rights opinion?
    Dr. Cardona. Hello, Senator. Thank you for the question. I 
understand that there are a lot of concerns about that. It is--
if confirmed, it is my responsibility and my privilege to make 
sure that we are following civil rights of all students, and 
that includes activities that they may engage in high school or 
in athletics.
    Senator Paul. What do you think in general about boys 
running in girls' track meets like they have been doing in 
Connecticut?
    Dr. Cardona. I think that it is critically important that 
educated--education systems and educators respect the rights of 
all students, including students who are transgender, and that 
they are afforded the opportunities that every other student 
has to participate in extracurricular activities.
    Senator Paul. Does it bother you that like the top 20 
percent of boys running in track meets beat all of the girls in 
the state, and that it, would be-- completely destroy girls' 
athletics, the girls are being pushed out, they don't make the 
finals in the state meet, they don't get college scholarships, 
that it is really detrimental to girls' sports? Do you worry 
about having boys run in girls' track meets?
    Dr. Cardona. I recognize and appreciate the concerns and 
the frustrations that are expressed. I, as Commissioner of 
Education, have had conversations with families who have felt 
the way you just described it, and families of students who are 
transgender. So, I understand that this is a challenge. I look 
forward to working with you and others to----
    Senator Paul. Do you think----
    Dr. Cardona [continuing]. Communicate----
    Senator Paul [continuing]. It is fair to have boys running 
in the girls' track meet?
    Dr. Cardona. I think it is appropriate for--I think it is 
the legal responsibility of schools to provide opportunities 
for students to participate in activities, and this includes 
students who are transgender.
    Senator Paul. You don't have a problem then with boys 
running in the girls' track meets, swimming meets, you name it? 
You are okay then with boys competing with girls?
    Dr. Cardona. Respectfully, Senator, I think I answered the 
question. I believe schools should offer the opportunity for 
students to engage in extracurricular activities, even if they 
are transgender. I think that is their right.
    Senator Paul. Alright. Well, a lot of us think that is 
bizarre, not very fair. I come from a family that has a lot of 
girls who have been--have competed in college athletics, have 
been state champions. And frankly, some boy that is six foot 
two competing against my five foot four niece does not sound 
very fair. I think most people in the Country think it is 
bizarre. It is just completely bizarre and unfair that people--
--
    You are going to run the Department of Education and you 
have got no problem with it. That concerns me. And I think it 
is this kind of thing that is going to lead to really just the 
vast majority of America just wondering who are these people 
that think it is okay? From what planet are you from? I mean, 
to think it is okay that boys would compete with girls in a 
track meet, that somehow would be fair. I wonder where 
feminists are on this. I wonder where the people who supported 
women's sports are on this. I mean, are we all going to be okay 
with hulking, six-foot-four guys, wrestling against girls to--
it just makes no sense whatsoever.
    I think the fact that you seem to be afraid to answer the 
question, or you basically do answer the question by saying it 
is okay without saying it is okay, really is a statement to a 
real problem we have and a disconnect between what middle 
America and what most Americans actually believe. I even think 
most Democrats don't believe girls should run in a boys' track 
meet, boys should run in a girls' track meet.
    I am disappointed in the answer and I just cannot imagine 
that we are going to have a policy like that nationally.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you.
    Senator Murphy, you are next.
    Senator Murphy. Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Again, 
congratulations, Dr. Cardona. Thank you for your willingness to 
serve.
    Just a word on the topic that Senator Burr raised about 
assessments. I am a believer in assessments. I think it is 
really hard to figure out how to target resources if you don't 
know how your kids are performing. Admittedly, much tougher to 
do assessments right now, and there is probably a worthwhile 
conversation about how you tie assessments to accountability 
measures.
    But, on a bipartisan basis, we have approved hundreds of 
billions of dollars to send to states and municipalities. We 
want to make sure that money is spent well, and having a sense 
of what kids are succeeding and what kids are not is just, I 
think, a proper exercise of responsible taxpayer dollar 
management. And, so, I just add that to the conversation.
    Dr. Cardona, I want to talk about sort of two issues unique 
to Meriden, Connecticut that I think are great to highlight for 
the Country. One is the work that you have done there to reduce 
suspensions and expulsions, and the next is the work that 
Meriden has done to promote a truly diverse community, racially 
diverse and economically diverse, and to talk about the benefit 
that is provided to students by going to school in a diverse 
environment.
    First, I am a believer that the Federal Government should 
move more quickly to try to reduce the school-to-prison 
pipeline; that we should be encouraging states to use less 
exclusionary discipline, meaning kicking kids out of school as 
a means to try to make schools safer.
    What have you done in--you led this effort in Meriden. What 
did you do to reduce the use of suspensions and expulsions in a 
way that frankly ended up making your schools safer places?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator. Yes. It is hard to learn 
if you are being excluded from the learning environment, so 
efforts to reduce exclusionary practices were critical to our 
work in Meriden and at the state level. And, to do this, you 
have to really engage students as partners in the process. 
Engaging student voice and giving students an opportunity to 
communicate their experience, and how their learning is best 
and what struggles they are having in their learning 
environment is critically important.
    You mentioned restorative practices. Making sure that when 
issues arise in our schools that we are looking at it as a 
learning opportunity for our students and trying to bring a 
stronger sense of community as a result. So, restorative 
practices was something that we did in Meriden.
    But, also monitoring. I know you talked about 
accountability and monitoring. If--we are not going to improve 
it if we are not monitoring it, if we are not looking at our 
data disaggregated by race, by socioeconomic status, by free 
and reduced lunch, by students with disabilities. We have to be 
open and honest about what we are doing and what the results 
are, and are they different for different students, and then we 
have to be honest about building capacity for our educators, 
for our schools, and for our systems to make sure that we are 
addressing it intentionally.
    Senator Murphy. One of the things that you will be 
immediately presented with is an executive order around school 
discipline policies that included a lot of incentives for data 
collection. And I hope you will take a hard look at re-
implementing all or part of that Obama year executive order, in 
part because it does get to this question of making sure that 
we are watching what happens. What we know is that it tends to 
be students of color and students of disability that end up 
getting excluded from school more so than their White or non-
disabled peers.
    Lastly, I just wanted to ask you to talk about the benefit 
of Meriden's diverse student community. I have legislation that 
would set up a Federal grant to support voluntary school 
integration programs, racial integration programs and economic 
integration programs.
    I have always been struck in visiting Meriden how the kids 
themselves are so conscious of the benefit they get from going 
to middle schools and high schools where they have economic and 
racial diversity. And, in fact, I have talked to lots of kids 
who moved from less diverse communities, either all-White 
communities or communities with almost exclusively students of 
color, and they themselves just had their eyes opened. So, why 
is that important to Meriden's success?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator. So, I am a big believer in 
not only curriculum providing a window into other cultures or a 
mirror into your own culture where you can see yourself, but I 
also believe the environment. Having a diverse environment is a 
better environment. Diverse perspectives, diverse backgrounds.
    There is a level of celebration of differences, which, if 
we can get our students to graduate school with a celebration 
of differences, they are going to be much more successful in 
the global economy that we are in.
    It is definitely a benefit, and it is something that in my 
home community, I have benefited from, and my children, too, as 
well.
    Senator Murphy. Well, I will look forward to, working with 
you on ways that we can allow the Federal Government to be a 
facilitator of those conversations. These are ultimately 
decisions that get made at the local level about how to 
approach this question of desegregation, integration, but it is 
a conversation that the Federal Government can play a more 
helpful role, and I look forward to working with you on that.
    Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you.
    Senator Cassidy.
    Senator Cassidy. Hey, Dr. Cardona. Nice to see you again. 
Thank you. Can you hear me? I think you can.
    Dr. Cardona. I can. Hello, Senator.
    Senator Cassidy. Listen, we had a great conversation and, 
as I expressed to you, I have a real interest in dyslexia. The 
gurus on this, if you will, are from Yale Medical School, so 
kind of a home state for you, the Dr. and Dr. Sally and Bennett 
Shaywitz.
    It is clear that you can diagnose dyslexia in kindergarten 
and first grade; that one in five children are dyslexic--the 
best data shows that--and yet, we are not diagnosing that many 
children. And you and I discussed how poverty, and you 
mentioned English as a second language, can be used as an 
excuse to explain a child's lack of reading ability when 
perhaps they are dyslexic and require the specific intervention 
to address their dyslexia to keep them from falling down.
    Right now, I am just reviewing our conversation that you 
and I had for those who are listening to kind of set the stage 
for this.
    Again, I have been so concerned that poverty can be used as 
an excuse to deny a child the appropriate intervention. Can you 
give me your thoughts on that? And could you commit to helping 
to address that?
    Dr. Cardona. Sure. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I 
appreciate--I appreciate our conversation we had last month and 
the passion with which you bring these issues forward.
    I could call it the iBendito effect. The iBentido effect is 
having lower expectations because--that because a kid came from 
a tough environment, or maybe there was disruption in learning, 
that does not necessarily mean it is a learning disability.
    I agree with you that making sure we are screening 
adequately and providing the right interventions is critically 
important in our educational system. And I look forward to 
working with you and others to make sure that we have the right 
balance of screening and making sure that we are not assuming 
that students that come with a specific demographic background 
are thought of as having a special need, a special need for 
learning, or an issue that prevents them from learning.
    Senator Cassidy. What would be your position on universal 
screening for dyslexia in kindergarten or first grade, knowing 
that the data shows that it can be detected then with the 
appropriate screening instrument?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you. Yes. I am a big proponent of 
ensuring that we have adequate tools in our classrooms and that 
our teachers are equipped with the right tools and training to 
make sure that they can see where students' needs are and what 
might be something that requires a little bit further diagnosis 
or assessment.
    I think making sure that we have a really robust pre-K 
through three system that gives teachers the tools to assess 
students not only for dyslexia, but for other--other needs that 
students might have in their ability to learn to read. Because 
we know those years are pretty critical. So, I am in favor of 
better screening tools for our educators to have to help 
support our students.
    Senator Cassidy. Now, let me ask about high-stakes testing. 
If you are a child with dyslexia with a reading-intensive, 
high-stakes test, you are going to--it is testing for your 
weaknesses, not testing for your strengths. And that is just 
intuitive, and I am stealing this from the Shaywitzes, who are 
at Yale, so--but they have taught me so much about this topic.
    My concern is that if you have--and the best schools in the 
private sector put dyslexics in a single area, classroom, 
breakout session or whatever, and they give them the 
specialized curriculum that is needed for dyslexics, but that 
would be not so beneficial for non-dyslexics. So, it focuses 
the attention, the resources, where it is needed, but does not 
diffuse it over all.
    But, if you have that child in that concentration of such 
students and you are testing to their weakness where you have 
high-stakes tests, they are inevitably going to do poorly 
because, one, they have been selected for being poor readers, 
and then you are giving them a reader-intensive test. And, now, 
ideally, you are not going--you are going student by student on 
their improvement, not a class by class without looking at the 
individuals' improvement. Any thoughts on that as my time 
closes out?
    Dr. Cardona. Sure. Again, thank you for the question and 
the nuanced approach you took to this.
    A couple thoughts. No. 1, it is critically important 
whenever you are assessing a student you have multiple 
measures. So, I agree with you 100 percent. You cannot base 
everything on one test. You really have to have multiple 
measures. And, as you said, some assessments are very reading-
intensive, but sometimes that is not the best picture of the 
whole child.
    Second, I agree with you that focusing intervention for 
children with dyslexia will require a specific set of skills. 
It is--for me, my opinion, the best way to do that is to ensure 
that we have the proper training and we are clear on what 
strategies work well for those students, and make sure that we 
have our schools able to do those services for our students.
    Thank you, Senator, and I look forward to working more with 
you and hearing more about how we can support students with 
dyslexia, and all students with disabilities moving forward, if 
confirmed.
    Senator Cassidy. I appreciate that. And I will close by 
saying that our Every Child Succeeds Act, which I have, 
supported, nonetheless gives minimal latitude for a district or 
a state to do that individual, okay, you have dyslexia, so we 
are going to judge you differently. In fact, it puts the state 
in a straightjacket when it comes to assessing their progress. 
So, I do look forward to working with you on that and with my 
colleagues on the Committee.
    With that, I yield back, Madam Chair.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator Cassidy.
    Senator Baldwin.
    Senator Baldwin. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Thank you, Dr. Cardona, for joining us today and for your 
decades of service to the students and families in Connecticut 
and your willingness to continue that service by serving as 
Secretary of the Department of Education. I look forward to 
your swift confirmation and working with you to help address 
the many challenges that our Nation's students, parents, 
educators, and administrators face.
    Certainly, chief among those challenges right now is our 
Nation's recovery from this global pandemic and the associated 
economic downturn. During our last recession, America's 
community colleges played a real critical role in helping folks 
acquire new skills and get connected to well-paying, high-
quality jobs in in-demand industries. Then and now, career and 
technical education programs in our Nation's community and 
technical colleges help unemployed Americans get back to work, 
and CTE programs in middle school and high school can set 
students on a path to well-paying jobs.
    I am a co-chair of the Senate bipartisan CTE Caucus, and I 
am always looking for ways to advance career and technical 
education. One way to do so is by making community and 
technical college affordable and accessible to more and more 
students of all ages and backgrounds. My America's College 
Promise Act would do just that by making two years of education 
at these institutions tuition-free.
    Dr. Cardona, do you agree that strengthening career and 
technical education can help our Nation's recovery? And if so, 
if confirmed, how do you plan to support these programs both 
through community colleges and in middle and high schools?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I 
absolutely agree that career and technical education and 
pathways are critical in our recovery, but I also agree that 
our community colleges are going to be a major part of our 
recovery as a Country in education, and they play a very 
important role.
    I will explain how best I can move forward with this by 
sharing with you that, as Commissioner of Education, I had the 
wonderful experience of working with Superintendent Craig 
Drezek, who oversaw programming that allowed our high school 
students to get access to college-level courses in a community 
college and get credit for that, and create a pathway for them 
to think about career opportunities when they graduate the two-
year college.
    Then, what I have learned in my experience--not only in 
Connecticut but throughout the Country I see this happening--is 
if we can really start thinking about how we are providing 
opportunities for our middle and high school students to be 
exposed to the jobs of today, and pathways that include maybe a 
two-year college or a career technical education, or advanced 
manufacturing, computer science training, and get into the 
workforce, they are more likely to want to go back and get that 
four-year degree in something that they are passionate about.
    I do think it starts early into middle school, drives up 
through high school. But, we have to design our high schools to 
be able to provide those pathways for our students to be 
successful, whether they go to a four-year traditional pathway 
or to a pathway that involves a career and technical education 
training.
    Senator Baldwin. Thank you. In his first day in office, 
President Biden issued an executive order directing all Federal 
agencies to review their regulations, guidance, and other 
policies in light of this summer's decision by the U.S. Supreme 
Court finding that discrimination on the basis of sex under 
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act is properly understood to 
also forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation and 
gender identity.
    Dr. Cardona, I urge you to make that review one of your 
first orders of business if confirmed because it is critically 
important that all students have a safe environment, free from 
discrimination and harassment, in which to learn. LGBTQ 
students in particular remain vulnerable, and I was deeply 
disappointed by a number of actions that the Department took 
under the leadership of Former Secretary DeVos that put these 
students at further risk.
    As secretary, how do you plan to change the tone set by 
your predecessor and communicate the Department's support for 
LGBTQ students?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, and again, for the 
passion. I feel it is non-negotiable to make sure that our 
learning environments are places that are free of 
discrimination and harassment for all learners, including our 
LGBTQ students. And, not only will we review these carefully, 
we will also be in discussion with the folks at the agency and 
our partners out in the field, who have very strong 
perspectives on this, to learn more and make sure that we are 
doing everything to make sure that our learning environments 
are safe for students not only physically, but also where they 
can go there free of harassment or discrimination.
    Senator Baldwin. Thank you.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator Baldwin.
    We will turn to Senator Murkowski.
    Senator Murkowski. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Dr. Cardona, thank you for the opportunity to visit with 
you by phone last week. I appreciated our conversation, and I 
loved the story about how you integrated the Iditarod into your 
curriculum at that point in time. To have someone who has been 
at all levels working with kids, working with administrators, I 
think is a very unique perspective that you bring, too, to the 
position for which you have been nominated.
    Now, when I mention Iditarod, I know that through working 
with your students and in your classroom, that we have got a 
very, very rural state. And, with rural states, we have some 
very small schools, and there are challenges that come with 
that. It comes with teacher recruitment and retention, but it 
also comes with funding issues and certain disparities that can 
come about through use of formula or competitive grant-type 
funds.
    The Department's Office of Rural Outreach we think is a 
pretty good communications tool for the Department, but it 
really lacks any policy leverage, as I understand it. It is 
more along the lines of the Department is looking at programs, 
seeking to move forward with action, but then there is kind of 
a, oh, how is this going to work for our rural schools? How is 
this going to work for our smaller schools? So, more of a--it 
is kind of an afterthought rather than being part of the 
central discussion.
    I would like your input here in terms of what more we can 
do to ensure that our rural schools, our smaller schools, are 
not kind of the afterthought. And that when it comes to access 
for funding for these rural school districts, some are too 
small to really get many dollars from a formula grant, and then 
they don't have the capacity to apply and win a competitive 
grant. So, they are really stuck in this bind here.
    Your views, and what more can be done with a focus on our 
rural schools?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, Senator Murkowski, 
and I, too, enjoyed the conversations and having the 
conversation about the Iditarod and someone that really knows 
it more than I did. It was really awesome.
    Senator Murkowski. I have invited you up. I would love to 
show you around.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you. You brought up the issue of rural 
schools and rural communities, as did Senator Collins, and it 
really gives me--it made me think about what I experienced. 
When thinking about developing curriculum at the district or at 
the state level, I have often felt that ELLs were an 
afterthought in the development of curriculum; and that the 
needs of English learners was not really at the table at times 
when thinking about how are we going to meet the needs of all 
learners.
    Similarly, I feel the same way about rural communities; 
that, as you mention, they should not be an afterthought; that 
there has to be a seat at the table to make sure that when 
their needs are being--that their needs are being considered 
when we are talking about grants, when we are talking about 
competitive grants, or making sure we are meeting the needs of 
learners who are oftentimes marginalized or not given the 
attention that they should be given.
    What I commit to is ensuring that rural needs have a seat 
at the table, or representatives of students that are in rural 
communities have a seat at the table. Because your needs in 
those communities are unique, and unless we think about them 
when we are thinking about how to support students at the 
beginning, it will probably not get the attention that it 
needs.
    I commit to that in terms of fund distribution, but also 
learning more. I am very much interested in learning more about 
how the challenges in our rural communities are preventing 
students from gaining access to classes that they want or 
having access to a quality education during the pandemic.
    These are issues that are important to me, and I look 
forward to working with you and others to learn more about it, 
to make sure that they have a seat at the table, and that, as 
we plan forward, if confirmed, that the perspective of our 
rural students is also taken into account.
    Senator Murkowski. Well, I appreciate your focus on that. I 
think we have learned from this pandemic not only where health 
disparities exist throughout the Country, but certainly where 
our educational disparities exist. Because if you are not able 
to access broadband, if you do not have that----
    Dr. Cardona. Right.
    Senator Murkowski [continuing]. Internet, you do not have 
education.
    I was going to ask you a question about statewide 
assessments. I understand that you have answered that now 
twice, so I will look to your responses.
    But, I am very concerned about some of these students who 
have been without not only the in-person instruction, but also 
the benefits that technology has brought to other students 
across the Country during this time of COVID and the disparity 
that existed prior to, and unfortunately will probably be 
exacerbated. So, I look forward to working with you.
    Thank you, Mister--Madam Chairman.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator Murkowski.
    Senator Kaine.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you, Madam Chair, and to Ranking 
Member Burr. I am excited about continuing to work with this 
Committee under great leadership.
    I want to thank and congratulate Dr. Cardona for your----
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you.
    Senator Kaine [continuing]. Nomination. I think you are 
going to make an excellent Secretary of Education.
    My dad ran a welding shop in the stockyards of Kansas City, 
ironworking and welding shop, and he was management. He was the 
owner. My two brothers and I and my mom worked in that business 
for years. The core of the business were these anywhere from 
five to seven ironworkers, union ironworkers, who made that 
business a success. And my dad always attributed much of the 
success to them, just as they attributed the success to his 
business acumen.
    Years later, I ran a school in Honduras that taught kids to 
be welders and carpenters. When I got into public life as a 
city councilman in 1994, I was completely convinced of the 
power of high-quality career and technical education, but I 
started to discover in so many of our policies an inequity 
about the way we treat career and technical education. It was 
not emphasized in K-12. Sometimes it was used in the bad old 
days to track students whose folks didn't think had much 
potential.
    At the Federal level, we have policy after policy that 
treats career and technical education different than higher ed. 
So, say there is a family and a couple of parents who are--make 
an income that would qualify them for Pell Grants, and they 
have two kids, and one wants to go to college. Well, it is an 
entitlement for that kid. If he wants to go to college, there 
is a Pell Grant that is available for that child.
    Say the second child wants to be a welder, wants to be an 
EMT, wants to do something that would be a high-quality, 
intense career and technical program that does not happen on a 
college campus and is not the length of a college semester. 
That child cannot get a Pell Grant.
    The child who wants to go to college basically gets an 
entitlement, but for the child who wants to pursue high-quality 
career and technical education, well, we give WIOA funds to a 
Governor, and the Governor can decide how it gets allocated. 
So, hopefully there is a program somewhere near where this 
youngster is and hopefully there is room for this youngster, 
but there is no guarantee of it.
    I have made it my passion since I came here in 2013, and 
certainly since I have been on the Committee, to try to 
eliminate root and branch, root and branch, the second-class 
status that we so often assign to career and technical 
education, and I know you have focused a lot on this in 
Connecticut.
    In Virginia, we have had a program called FastForward, 
where we fund our community colleges to do high-quality career 
and tech, not the length of a semester. Because of that, the 
students cannot get Pell Grants for it, but we have been able 
to fund it at the state level. What we have found is the 
students do great. They are a little different than average. 
They tend to be about 35 years old. They are more likely to be 
minority students. But, what we have shown is that their 
earnings increase when they get credentials by about $8,000 
annually, and they are more likely to get jobs with benefits.
    I would like you to tell me that, should you be confirmed, 
you completely get that career pathways for high-quality career 
and tech are something that we should be valuing and respecting 
and supporting at--in Federal policy.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I 
wholeheartedly agree with that. I am a proud graduate of Wilcox 
Technical High School, where I studied automotive. And I had 
the opportunity to go into that field if I wanted to, or go 
into college, and I chose to go to college. I wanted to be a 
fine arts teacher, and then I was drawn to elementary 
education.
    But, the point is that you are absolutely right. We need to 
really evolve our thinking to say college and career 
opportunities should exist in the comprehensive high schools 
that provide pathways, clear pathways, to options for students 
in the fields that, right now, there are great, high-paying 
jobs that are going unfilled because we are not as aligned as 
we need to be.
    I am big supporter of that.
    Senator Kaine. Excellent.
    Dr. Cardona. There is a running joke in Connecticut, 
welders who code have it made. So, if you are a welder and you 
know how to code, you can program a machine, you are going to 
be pretty good.
    Senator Kaine. Dr. Cardona, I have a very bipartisan bill 
with Senator Portman called the JOBS Act that would allow Pell 
to be used for high-quality career and tech. I would love to 
work with you on it.
    Just a suggestion. There have been questions about COVID 
and testing and how we should grapple with that question. I 
hope what we might do is continue to use testing to identify 
challenges and learning gaps, but maybe because of COVID, 
adjust the accountability sanctions on schools and things like 
that might not be appropriate, and I hope you will consider 
that.
    Last question. How much would it help states and schools if 
the Federal Government, instead of funding the IDEA at about 13 
percent of costs, would actually do what we said we would do 
when we passed it and fund 40 percent of the cost? How much 
would that help our schools in states like Connecticut and 
everywhere else?
    Dr. Cardona. It would be a game changer for public 
education and for our students with disabilities, and for all 
of our school communities.
    Senator Kaine. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    [Pause]
    Senator Scott. Thank you, Madam Chair Murray, and thank you 
for holding this hearing.
    Dr. Cardona, thank you for being willing to serve as our 
education secretary. Without any question--I am reading about 
your life story. It just reminds me of the goodness of America 
and that all things are truly possible in the greatest Nation 
on the earth. Your story models that reality, and I am so 
excited to have a conversation with you about making sure that 
education is the foundation for the next generation of success 
stories.
    As you and Senator Kaine were just having a very--really 
important conversation about tech schools and two-year 
education, I want to just put a plug in there for shop. You may 
not be old enough to remember when we had shop in high schools, 
but it is really an important part of the apparatus that makes 
success possible. And, as you have already alluded to, that you 
can have a high quality of life, and there is dignity in all 
work, and shop is a really important part of that.
    I come at this issue as a poor kid growing up in a single-
parent household and believe that education is the closest 
thing to magic. And the more we focus on education, K through 
12, the more likely we are to have success stories in every 
community in this Country, and that is exactly what we are 
striving to do.
    I will say that without question, and unfortunately, it has 
become more and more clear to me that partisan politics and 
special interest groups sometimes finds its way in front of 
kids and education. And I will say that, even in the pandemic, 
we saw relief bills that wanted to empower Governors to make 
the best decisions that they could for their kids blocked by my 
friends on the other side of the aisle. That, to me, just does 
not make a lot of sense, and it certainly does not make for 
improvements in educational outcomes for the poorest kids, 
oftentimes stuck in rural America or inner-city America. They 
both share the same burden of lacking quality education in too 
many of those zip codes.
    Frankly, one of the things that is most alarming, Dr. 
Cardona, is that many of our public schools remain closed. And 
we know that the learning loss that happens over the summertime 
in normal circumstances and situations slows down the learning 
progress for so many kids. So, imagine 18 months outside the 
classroom. That will be devastating for the learning loss for 
too many kids.
    But, at the exact same time, as we celebrate Catholic 
School Week, we note that there are over five million students 
today in private schools, and many of those schools are open 
today. One point seven million low-income families send their 
kids to open, private and Catholic schools.
    That should be the case today. The CDC has said basically 
the same thing, that it is really important to get our kids 
back in school, and that is something we should prioritize as a 
Country. And private school education that is available for the 
elites in Washington, the elites around the Country, and if you 
don't send your kid to a private school, you can send your 
school--your kid to the best public school by simply moving 
into the right district. That is not the case for too many poor 
kids in rural America, and is certainly not the case for too 
many kids in inner-city America.
    As a matter of fact, when you think about the promise of 
high-quality education, and frankly private school education, 
you have to look right at our current president, President 
Biden, and his kids, former President Obama and his kids, House 
Democrat Whip, Jim Clyburn, at Speaker Pelosi, Senator Casey, 
Senator Kaine, House Ed and Labor Chairman, Bobby Scott. All 
benefited from private schools and Catholic Schools.
    I have got to assume that my colleagues on the other side 
of the aisle work in good faith, but it does, to me, smack of a 
little hypocrisy, hypocritical that those folks were allowed to 
avail themselves and their kids to private school education. 
And too often, those same policymakers seem to make it hard for 
the poorest Americans to find the path to take care of their 
kids and the highest possible education path, and that is just 
not available for too many kids and too many of their families.
    I hope, Dr. Cardona, that you will take some time and 
perhaps articulate your position on things like the bipartisan 
D.C. Opportunity Scholarship that helps kids enter into charter 
schools and get a quality education, where the graduation rate 
is nearly double that of every other public school in the D.C. 
market. So, I would love to hear your comments on charter 
schools and maintaining the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator, for your passion and your 
comments and your question.
    I recognize there are excellent examples of charter 
schools. I have seen many in Connecticut. Stanford Charter 
comes to mind. I know there are also phenomenal examples of 
neighborhood schools that are doing just as great work and are 
giving all students----
    Senator Scott. Absolutely.
    Dr. Cardona [continuing]. An opportunity to succeed. And my 
passion really is to ensure quality schools, period. Making 
sure that we are not supporting a system of winners and losers 
where, if you get into a school, you have an opportunity for 
success, but if you don't get into a school, your options lead 
to at least a belief that you cannot make it.
    For me, I am a strong proponent of making sure all schools 
are quality schools, investing in our neighborhood schools to 
make sure that they are quality schools where parents want to 
send their children. We know most parents want to send their 
children to their neighborhood school, so it is really 
important that we support all schools, including those 
neighborhood schools that are usually the first choice for 
families in that community.
    Senator Scott. I know that I am out of time, so I will just 
say this, Dr. Cardona. Thank you for your answer. Thank you for 
being clear. I certainly share the objective of making sure 
that every child in every zip code has a quality choice. 
Unfortunately, for poorer kids and minority kids and rural 
kids, that is not always the case, and I want to make sure that 
we make that playing field as level for them as conceivably 
possibly.
    Thank you, and thank you for your little extra time, Madam 
Chair Murray.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you so much, Senator Scott.
    Can you hear me in the hearing room now?
    Senator Burr. Yes, we can, Patty.
    The Chair pro tempore. Okay. Great. I will turn to Senator 
Hassan.
    Senator Hassan. Well, thank you, Madam Chair Murray and 
Ranking Member Burr. I really look forward to working with both 
of you in this new Congress.
    Thank you, Dr. Cardona, for being here today, and 
congratulations to you and your entire family----
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you.
    Senator Hassan [continuing]. For your nomination, because 
this kind of service is truly a family affair.
    Dr. Cardona. Yes, it is. Thank you.
    Senator Hassan. Before I start my questions, I would ask 
the Madam Chair if I could please have unanimous consent to 
enter this letter from a coalition of 54 organizations working 
to protect students and taxpayers with stronger consumer 
protections in higher education into the record.
    [Pause]
    Senator Hassan. Is that without objection, Madam Chair?
    Senator Burr. Without objection, .
    Senator Hassan. Thank you.
    The Chair pro tempore. So ordered.
    Senator Hassan. Thank you. Dr. Cardona, as our Nation 
continues to grapple with unprecedented disruptions to our 
education systems, I look forward to hearing from you on how we 
can best meet the needs of our students now and going forward.
    Before I get to my questions, I also just want to echo 
Senator Collins' comments and some of Senator Murkowski's, too, 
on the importance of supporting rural schools and working 
collaboratively to fix the formula to ensure that schools are 
able to continue to access needed funding through the Rural and 
Low-Income School Program. And I look forward to working with 
you on that.
    I wanted to turn to the issue of COVID-19 education 
funding. As we have discussed today, schools need additional 
funding to help address COVID-19, especially in order to help 
more schools reopen for in-person learning. Several of my 
colleagues have raised concerns about the level of funding in 
President Biden's COVID-19 relief proposal. What specifically 
do you anticipate schools using that additional funding for? Do 
you know how the Administration determined what amount was 
needed? And what do you see as the consequences if Congress 
fails to act on education funding for COVID relief?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question. You know, as a 
nominee, I am not involved in the policy development, but I do 
recognize that in the development of this, different 
stakeholders were at the table talking about what impacts it 
would have as they developed this.
    I can tell you that as Commissioner of Education in 
Connecticut, the funding--and we are appreciative of the 
funding--has really helped us keep the lights on, make sure we 
have PPE, make sure we have schools that are safe and clean, 
better ventilation. We have custodial support making sure that 
our buildings are clean. I wouldn't want it any other way if my 
wife and children are going to those schools.
    However, the funding that is being considered now, moving 
forward, is really to make sure we recover. We have--we are 
experiencing--we are in the middle of a pandemic, and our 
learners, the social, emotional development of--the needs of 
the counselors are greater.
    Many of our students have lost loved ones, have been 
through trauma in terms of their families losing their jobs. So 
much change has happened. We are going to need more counselors 
in our schools.
    We are going to make--need to make sure we have summer 
programming.
    We are going to need to make sure we have extended days.
    If we really want to recover, we really need to invest now 
or we are going to pay later. And I feel that the funds that 
are being discussed now are really to help us with the long-
term recovery process, preventing layoffs when we need more 
teachers, not less.
    Senator Hassan. Thank you. I now want to turn to the issue 
of career pathways, which you and I discussed a little bit when 
we met earlier, and the importance of engaging adult learners. 
And it also goes to some of what Doctor--Senator Kaine was 
talking about in terms of the JOBS Act.
    Last week, I reintroduced the Gateways to Careers Act for 
Senator Young, Senators Kaine, and Collins. This is a 
bipartisan bill that would support career pathways programs 
where students can make an income while they earn educational 
credentials. The bill also includes important wraparound 
supports for learners who face barriers to completion, like to 
help access affordable housing and cover transportation costs.
    Do you agree that it is important to support these kinds of 
programs? And can you share some of your thoughts on how we can 
better serve adult learners who have struggled to engage with 
traditional education opportunities?
    Dr. Cardona. Right. Thank you for the question. I do think 
it is important. Pell Grants now pay for maybe a quarter of the 
expenses in state colleges. I think in 1975, 1976, the same 
amount paid for about three-quarters of the costs.
    Senator Hassan. Right.
    Dr. Cardona. It is much more difficult to access higher 
education now for our learners, our students.
    Clear pathways that start earlier to give our pre-K-12 
system students an opportunity to see what opportunities may 
exist, whether it is CTE or college-track courses, maybe having 
more courses at the high school level where students can be 
dual enrolled and really feel like they are a college student.
    My son, who has just recently enrolled in a course through 
his high school with the community college. That was a pretty 
proud moment as a father to know that he is taking a college 
course as a junior, and that he is having a head start.
    That should not be the exception. There should be 
opportunities for all students to do those types of things. And 
I think with careful coordination, it should be something that 
we should be doing much more across our Country.
    Senator Hassan. Well, I look forward to working with you on 
that.
    Thank you, Madam Chair. I yield the time.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much.
    Senator Romney.
    Senator Romney. Thank you very much, Madam Chair and 
Ranking Member Burr. And thank you, Dr. Cardona, for being with 
us today. I appreciated the chance that we had to chat 
yesterday and appreciated your answers to that point.
    I want to associate myself with a number of the things that 
were said by Senator Paul. That is not something I say very 
frequently, but he made a very, very good point. I have got 
pictures of my eight granddaughters among some grandsons behind 
me. They should not be competing with people who are 
physiologically in an entirely different category. And I think 
boys should be competing with boys and girls should be 
competing with girls on the athletic field.
    I am going to turn instead to the stimulus program that the 
President has proposed. In December, we added funding for K 
through 12. Sixty-seven billion dollars was added to what was 
previously put in the CARES Act. A total of $67 billion between 
the two, rather, and now the President is proposing that we add 
130 billion on top of that.
    In looking at the areas that are proposed, he is proposing 
that we hire 10 percent more teachers in America. Now, we have 
about 3.5 million educators in the Country, so this would be 
some 350,000 additional educators, and he is proposing that we 
build new classrooms for these teachers.
    I don't presume that it is your plan or their plan to fire 
these teachers after COVID is over. Is that right?
    Dr. Cardona. Correct, Senator.
    Senator Romney. Well, so then we are basically permanently 
adding 350,000 teachers and building a lot more classrooms. So, 
I presume this is associated with saying that the smaller 
classroom size is going to get better education for our kids. 
But, I have not seen any unbiased studies, other than from the 
teachers' union, that suggest that smaller classroom size 
correlates in any way to student performance, obviously within 
some normal parameters.
    But, as you look at the NAEP exams, for instance, to 
compare the various states, the states at the very top have the 
same size classrooms that the states--as the states at the very 
bottom. Is that correct? Do you understand that the same way I 
do?
    Dr. Cardona. I am sorry. I did not understand the--I did 
not hear the last part of the question.
    Senator Romney. I am sorry. I guess our connection today is 
not doing real well.
    I am just pointing out that based upon the National 
Assessment of Student Performance, it shows that states at the 
very top of performance compared to those at the very bottom 
performance have about the same size classroom size. So, just 
adding more classrooms does not seem to correlate with better 
student performance. Is that your perception, also?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, Senator. So, the 
question about classroom size, I think there are numerous 
studies over time that have shown that, classroom size is not 
necessarily the most important indicator. However, as a former 
teacher, a principal, and in my experience as an educator, I 
can tell you, when I have 15 students in front of me versus 28 
students in front of me, I am able to give more specialized 
attention to those 15 students.
    I think, in the NAEP studies that you reference, there are 
other factors that it would be unfair to compare those to 
because it could be that in the communities that have greater 
class size, they also have additional resources that maybe the 
others do not.
    Senator Romney. I would tend to look at studies that were 
done, for instance, by the McKinsey Institute that looks at 
performance of students around the world and the impact of 
classroom size.
    I note when I served as Governor of Massachusetts, we 
compared 152 different school districts based on classroom size 
and student performance and there was no relationship 
whatsoever. The key is making sure we hire the best teachers. 
Starting wages for teachers I think is at--or salaries for 
teachers, absolutely critical.
    I would strongly encourage you to look at the $170 billion 
the Administration is proposing to add to K through 12 for 
COVID relief and suggest that we put in place things that will 
really make a difference, like giving all of our kids access to 
electronics, computers, iPads, and so forth, broadband 
capacity. These things, I think, will have a far greater 
impact. I would underscore that I am concerned that the funding 
that we are describing is something which the teachers union is 
very happy to receive, but which will not result in actual 
improvement in the scores and the performance of our young 
people.
    I would also like to associate myself with the comments 
that have been made with regards to technical education that 
Senator Kaine indicated, and Senator Hassan. I think it is 
critical that we level the playing field and we encourage young 
people to get a technical education if that is where their 
orientation is, and that we support them in every way we 
possibly can. Thank you, Doctor. Good to be with you.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator. I look forward to working 
with you, if confirmed, and learning more with you and your 
colleagues to make sure we are doing everything we can for all 
of our students. Thank you.
    Senator Romney. Thank you.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much. And I 
understand Senator Warren, who got cutoff earlier, is in the 
room.
    Senator Warren, if you want to finish your time.
    Senator Warren. Thank you very much. Thank you, Madam 
Chair, and thank you, Dr. Cardona.
    I am reminded by this how difficult it is right now for our 
students and for our teachers, who are having to deal with 
technical glitches that interrupt their education every day, 
and why this package is so important to get the resources into 
our schools, so we can get those schools opened for learning 
for all of our kids in person. So, thank you.
    When you and I were interrupted by technical problems, we 
were talking about the fact that you are a first-generation 
college student, and that the opportunities that were available 
to go to college without debt a generation ago are just not 
there now.
    We were talking about the 43 million Americans who are 
struggling with student loan debt--about $1.5 trillion in 
student loan debt. And, at least when I lost you in this 
process, you were starting to talk about what it means that 40 
percent of those who are dealing with student loan debt do not 
have a college diploma. So, what does that mean in terms of the 
impact of student loan debt on their lives?
    Dr. Cardona. It is a significant impact. I think 1.2 
million default every year. And what we do know is if you did 
not graduate and did not get your degree, your earning 
potential is not what it would be if you did. So, I think what 
it does is exacerbate issues for those who are unable to pay.
    Senator Warren. Yes. And can you say a word about how 
student loan debt is impacting Black and Latino students?
    Dr. Cardona. It is disproportionately affecting them more. 
I recently read that for Black students who graduate, 12 years 
later, they are still paying more than they were starting with 
when they started--when they took the loan out because of the 
interest. So, 12 years after starting the loan, they are--they 
owe more.
    Senator Warren. Yes.
    Dr. Cardona. That is exacerbating gaps. That is 
perpetuating, the haves and the have-nots.
    Senator Warren. A deep hole that keeps getting deeper.
    Here is something that may come as a surprise to many 
Americans. Student loan debt is one of the biggest contributors 
to rising debt loads by seniors. There are older Americans who 
are still paying off student loan debt in their 60's, in their 
70's, even in their 80's. In fact, tens of thousands of 
Americans have had their Social Security checks garnished for 
student loan debt.
    In other words, the impact is felt everywhere. And even 
before this economic crisis, before this pandemic, the economic 
effects of student loan debt were holding back our economy.
    Dr. Cardona, this is a crisis. You are in a unique position 
to be able to do something about it. Congress gave the 
Department of Education tools to help borrowers with student 
loan debt. Let me ask you, will you commit to doing everything 
you can to use those tools to provide borrowers with immediate 
relief?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes, Senator.
    Senator Warren. Good. And one of those tools is overseeing 
the office of Federal Student Aid. Under your predecessor, 
Betsy DeVos, that office was on the side of greedy student loan 
servicers instead of borrowers. Will you commit to developing a 
plan to reform FSA so that it works for student borrowers 
instead of for big corporations?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes, Senator.
    Senator Warren. Good. I really appreciate those 
commitments. They can make an enormous difference in the lives 
of millions of people across this Country.
    One route that I am going to continue to urge you to take 
is administrative cancellation of student loan debt. The law on 
this is clear. Congress gave the power to the Secretary of 
Education, and the past two secretaries--and yes, that includes 
Betsy DeVos--used it. So, if confirmed, that tool will be 
waiting on your desk when you are sworn in, and that is 
tremendous power to help.
    As you know, Majority Leader Schumer and I have outlined 
how you and President Biden can immediately cancel $50,000 in 
student loan debt, and I look forward to working with you to 
provide the relief that our students need.
    Thank you so much for agreeing to serve.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator.
    Senator Warren. Thank you.
    [Pause]
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you, Senator.
    We will turn to Senator Braun.
    Senator Braun. Thank you, Madam Chair.
    Just a little over a week ago, we had a robust 
conversation--I think it went 35, 40 minutes--and some of the 
stuff that we talked about then has already been covered. I am 
going to jump right to the question nobody ever seems to ask 
around here. And I know that in building a business and being 
on a school board for 10 years that I was in my hometown from 
'04 to '14, being a state legislator on the education 
committee, it was the idea of cost, how do you pay for things.
    Higher education, after you get through high school, when 
you are out there trying to pursue that pathway of CTE or a 
four-year degree, has sadly eclipsed in terms of costs going 
up. Healthcare, the other thing that I have probably been 
loudest about of any Senator, that we need to reform a broken 
system.
    You and I spoke about Mitch Daniels, what he did at Purdue. 
I don't know if you had a chance to look into that any. But, he 
has frozen tuition now I think for 8, 9 years. In a place like 
this that runs trillion-dollar structural deficits, when so 
many people look to the Federal Government to get help, what 
are your thoughts on how we do better at getting better value 
out of post-secondary education and how are you going to weigh 
in on it? What did you learn maybe from Mitch Daniels?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question. And, I did have an 
opportunity to see how cost-saving measures were done at Purdue 
and, I think my response to that is we need to do that as a 
Nation. We need to really look at exemplars and lift them up to 
say this is another way to protect students, then debt; and 
making sure that we are keeping college costs down; making sure 
that universities and colleges are using everything at their 
disposal to make the experience of the learner one that they 
can afford and that they are not going to be paying for the 
rest of their lives, so they can move on to buy a home, start a 
family, and do the things that they need to do after.
    To answer your question, I would want to make sure that 
programs like that are elevated, communicated, and that the 
agency can provide a platform through which we--the left hand 
learns from the right hand, right? Unfortunately, there are a 
lot of pockets of excellence across our Country that people 
don't know about. So, you mentioning it gave me the opportunity 
to look into it.
    But, I think we need to have a more structured system where 
we are learning from one another and we are keeping students at 
the center of the conversation, making sure that college 
efficiency is one of those topics. And making sure that the 
return on investment is there for our higher education 
learners.
    Senator Braun. I am glad to see that you have that point of 
view because currently, on anything we do here, we borrow about 
23 percent of what we spend. And I think for most parents, 
stakeholders across the Country, good health and good 
education, and sadly those are the two most costly parts of our 
economy and society.
    It was talked about earlier--Senator Scott, choice. Indiana 
has led the way on school choice. I come from a school 
district, public school district, one of the best in the state. 
Back when I was a school board member, a Catholic high school 
tried to get started in our hometown. No demand for it, even 
though the faith-based part had interest in it, but the public 
school systems were so good. At a neighboring county, who lost 
one of its three grade schools, the smallest of the three, the 
best performing, due to bad management within that district.
    I would like you to be a little more distinct in what you 
are going to do in terms of promoting competition and choice, 
because I think you generally said, I want all schools to do 
well.
    Dr. Cardona. Sure. So, I went to a technical high school, 
so I had choice when I went to high school. I could have gone 
to a traditional, comprehensive high school. I chose a 
technical high school. And I think that is healthy, and I think 
families should have that, students should have that.
    What I referred to earlier, and I feel pretty strongly 
about, is that our public schools cannot be a poor alternative, 
that--our neighborhood schools--not public schools, because 
there are charters that are public also. But, our neighborhood 
schools need to be schools where we want to send our children, 
and we have to make sure that it is not that they are 
alternative, or the least-desired alternative, but that it is a 
high-quality alternative for students to attend their 
neighborhood schools.
    I feel pretty strongly about that. I think it--I am pretty 
clear that public education, public schools in our 
neighborhoods, need to be developed. That is the bedrock of our 
Country. That is the--that is where the majority of our 
students attend, and we have to make sure that it is a high-
quality school for all kids.
    Senator Braun. Very briefly, the third topic we covered, 
which has been covered by three or four other Senators, CTE 
pathway. I know in building my own business, we do not need 
more applicants with four-year degrees. We fill those spots 
with more applicants that we can really even talk to.
    Dr. Cardona. Right.
    Senator Braun. It is that easy to do. Indiana exports I 
think twice as many four-year degrees as we keep in state.
    When it comes to that, a tip that might be pursued is--I 
don't think it will cost anything. But, when I looked into it, 
even in my own county, we were stigmatizing that pathway. 
Guidance counselors are that first point where parents and 
students get to talk to someone. Probably needs to be a little 
more emphasis on high-wage, high-demand jobs in that pathway by 
just changing the paradigm and the point of view, and I don't 
think that would cost hardly anything. That would just be a 
pulpit from which you can say a lot about.
    Dr. Cardona. Absolutely. I wholeheartedly agree, Senator. 
And, if confirmed, I look forward to--this is exciting work. I 
am fortunate to have been a part of a Governor's Workforce 
Council in Connecticut where we brought in our business 
partners, higher education institutions and our K-12--pre-K-12 
institutions together to say, let's get this right. Let's work 
together to get this right, to make sure that these pathways 
are communicated early in our schools and they are viable 
options for career and great livelihood for our students. So, I 
am really eager to get into that work, if confirmed, and I look 
forward to working with you in Indiana and hearing more about 
the great programs there and making sure that we are sharing 
those best practices across the Country. Thank you.
    Senator Braun. Thank you.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much.
    Senator Smith.
    Senator Smith. Thank you very much, Madam Chair Murray. And 
congratulations to--it is wonderful to say Madam Chair Murray 
and also Ranking Member Burr. I am really excited to work with 
all of you on this Committee this year.
    Congratulations, Dr. Cardona. I am so--I have to say, at a 
time when there is a lot of things going on that are not going 
great, it is so exciting for me to hear your commitment and 
your energy and enthusiasm for this really, hard work ahead. 
And I think that your experience as a classroom educator, as 
well as a principal and an administrator, is exactly the kind 
of experience that we need in this role right now, so I am just 
super excited to hear about this.
    I think that in this moment, parents and students and 
educators are all just overwhelmed. The sense of responsibility 
and accountability and challenge in this moment is really 
palpable. I see this all the time in Minnesota, and I can see 
from the conversations with my colleagues in this Committee 
today that we are all experiencing that. And I think it is one 
of the reasons why you are getting asked great questions about 
where we go from here.
    You can see a lot of us on both sides of the aisle have 
great interest in career and technical education--shop, as 
Senator Scott is calling it--where we can really broaden our 
ideas about how students can build core to great careers and 
great jobs and great lives beyond a four-year education, and I 
certainly agree with that.
    But I want to ask you about something in particular that 
is--you and I had a chance to talk with--talk about a little 
bit when we were together. I so enjoyed our conversation. As we 
think about how in this Country we can continue the work of 
fulfilling the promise that our Country holds for everyone in 
this Country, I am thinking a lot about Minnesotans and 
Americans who are new Americans, who are immigrants. And I know 
that in my state, diversity in culture and language is not just 
something that we see in Minneapolis and St. Paul and the big 
cities. It is something that we see in regional centers, like 
Wilmar and Worthington and Fairmont. We have about 74,000 
students in Minnesota that do not speak English as their first 
language. I think it is five million in America.
    Certainly, learning English as a second or third language 
is complicated work and is challenging, but I think so much 
about what an opportunity this is and how much this adds to our 
classrooms and our schools and the experiences of all children.
    Could you just speak for a little bit--I know you have 
given this a lot of thought. Could you talk some about how we 
should support English language learners and immigrant students 
and what you have seen that works and how we could build on 
that as we go forward?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, Senator. I 
wholeheartedly agree that not only should we be, encouraging 
having more than one language, bilingualism, but also, we 
should be acknowledging not only bilingualism, but 
biculturalism. I think, they go together and that we honor our 
students' bilingualism by also honoring their culture. And I 
truly enjoyed the conversation I had with you about this.
    As a classroom teacher and as a principal, moving along the 
lines, when you are able to do that, you build community in 
your schools, No. 1, because they feel more engaged.
    But, in terms of the language development piece, research 
is pretty clear on how you learn a language, a second language. 
And unfortunately, in many cases, what we have done is we have 
subtracted L-1 to replace it with L-2, and then later we offer 
a prestigious elective of the same language that the student 
came with as a high school elective. So, we really have to 
rethink how we are doing this and understand the value and 
benefit of not only being bilingual in this Country, but being 
bicultural and your ability to work globally if you can do 
that.
    Senator Smith. Yes. Well, as I think you were saying when 
we spoke, language is culture, and too often we think of 
students that need to learn English as--their first language, 
if it is not English, is a barrier that they have to overcome 
rather than an asset that they have for themselves, but also, 
as you are indicating, an asset for the entire classroom as all 
the kids can learn from one another about their different 
languages and their different cultures. So, I just could not 
agree with you more, and I think that is going to be something 
that is going to be exciting to work on as we move forward.
    I don't have much time left, but I want to just also 
acknowledge, Dr. Cardona, that we--we had also a really great 
conversation about the importance of addressing mental health 
issues in classrooms--this is mental health issues among 
students--even if they are not in classrooms right now. I think 
this is also overwhelming, and I look forward to the work that 
we can do together on this.
    This is also a bipartisan issue, I think. Senator Murkowski 
and I have worked together on this issue, along with others. 
So, lots of work ahead there, as well, and good work.
    Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much.
    We will turn to Senator Marshall. Welcome to our Committee.
    Senator Marshall. Well, Madam Chair, thank you so much and 
it is an honor to be here with you today. And Ranking Member 
Burr, thank you for the invitation to come. Dr. Cardona, 
welcome.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you.
    Senator Marshall. You and I have so much in common. We are 
both first-generation college kids that went on to pursue and 
obtain doctorate's degrees. Community colleges seem to be 
something of interest to you. My wife and myself, both 
community college graduates. And, then, I think last, how 
important family is to you, that we are part of a loving family 
that has supported us, whose education was a priority. And, as 
I think about success of students, what makes up--what makes a 
student successful, and loving parents and good educators are 
always a good--a great key and a great indicator, and I 
appreciate your commitment to those.
    I want to go back to community colleges for a second. I am 
so proud of my community colleges across the State of Kansas. 
The Perkins Grants, TRIO Grants, are several opportunities, as 
well. And my dream is that not only would seniors in high 
school, but juniors and sophomores would start getting a little 
bit of college credit. And, by the way, how do you drive the 
cost of college down, and one of it is getting some of those 
credits back in high school and maybe finishing in 4 years. And 
if you cannot--if you have to borrow money to go to a 
university, maybe you should think about a community college.
    Just give you a second to expand on your vision for 
community colleges.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, and I appreciate the question and 
the statements you made earlier.
    Community colleges are critically important to not only 
rebuilding after the pandemic, but really just our plan forward 
in education. And I think they serve the community. I mean, it 
is in the name. And what we need to do more is make those 
programs more available or more accessible, earlier, for our 
learners so that they can look--for first-generation college 
students in particular, who might think about college and think 
early on, oh, that is not for me, I cannot afford it. We need 
to really remove those barriers, those mental barriers, that 
may exist generationally and really give them access to that.
    But, community colleges can also provide opportunities for 
students to explore pathways that they might not have 
considered in the past.
    Good coordination with pre-K-12 systems and community 
college systems are going to be really important to make 
college accessible to more students.
    Senator Marshall. Great. Thank you. And, moving onto the 
next subject, one of the top concerns for Americans right now--
maybe No. 1 for many, many families--is getting our children 
back in school. I want to talk about that for a second.
    As an obstetrician, I took care of many women with viruses. 
And if I learned one thing about viruses, they constantly 
change, and how people react to them is different, and 
especially pregnant women. Whether it is chicken pox or West 
Nile Virus, we--each pregnant woman will react differently.
    People talk about following the science, and the science is 
constantly changing with this virus because the virus is 
changing. And the location you are in is so important, whether 
you are on a Gulf Coast State or in the State of Connecticut or 
the plains of Kansas, this virus is acting differently.
    As you tried to get your schools opened, and it sounded 
like you had some success with that, what was the secret 
potion? Was it one-size-fits-all or was it empowering people in 
their own communities to be successful? As I have seen the 
rollout of the COVID challenges, whether it is giving 
vaccinations now, or before, getting PPE or the testing out, 
some communities succeeded and some did not. What were your--
how was your--how were you successful?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator, for the question. My 
experience as Commissioner of Education in Connecticut around 
school reopening was having very clear communication around 
which mitigation strategies worked. It was also very clear 
partnership with our health and safety experts, who understood 
pathology. I know we started looking at the flu and how the flu 
spread. Then we learned more about how COVID spread. Making 
sure that our decisions and policy decisions and 
recommendations are based off of that.
    But, as you said earlier, we have some communities with 
high schools of 150 students. We have other communities with 
high schools of 3,000 students. So, we recognized that our job 
was to provide clear guidance on how to open schools safely and 
support those districts in order for them to implement those 
mitigation strategies and safely reopen.
    Senator Marshall. Great. So, you--I think the point here is 
you gave them goals, objectives, and guardrails; you did not 
micromanage each one of those. And I think as we go forward, I 
hope you continue that same philosophy for our Nation, 
empowering local school boards and superintendents to make 
decisions.
    Lastly, I would like to talk about rural America school, 
but instead I have to talk about transgender issues. So, that--
that is sad to me. It is sad to me. Some of the highlights of 
so many people's growing up are those state track meets, and 
it--I just don't think it is American that a genotypical male, 
a person with a Y chromosome, is competing against girls that--
--
    What I learned from sports, and so important in my 
upbringing, what sports taught me, was that there was a level 
playing field; that we all had equal opportunity, and that is 
not equal. There is nothing American about letting people with 
a Y chromosome compete against women.
    What are the--what other alternatives are there out there? 
I agree with you, you want every person, regardless of some of 
those issues, transgender issue, has equal opportunity. Are 
there--besides letting genotypical males compete against women, 
are there any other alternatives out there?
    Dr. Cardona. Without getting into the policy that I have 
not been a part of that conversation, I can tell you that the 
Supreme Court ruled discrimination based on gender is not--it 
is illegal. So, we have to make sure that we are honoring our 
students, and we--I recognize this is not easy, and I respect 
the perspectives of people that feel differently, and I respect 
the fact that you are representing your stakeholders who have 
made it very clear to you how they feel.
    I commit to working with you and others to making sure that 
we can provide opportunities for all students in a non-
discriminatory fashion, but also making sure that we respect 
the rights and beliefs of all of our students.
    Senator Marshall. Thank you, Madam Chair, and I yield back.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much, and we will 
turn to Senator Rosen.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you, Madam Chair Murray. It is so 
wonderful to see you have that gavel today. And our Ranking 
Member Burr, I look forward to working with you in your new 
capacity, as well.
    Dr. Cardona, I agree with my colleagues. Today, I want to 
just thank you for being here with us, for your commitment to 
serving our Nation, our families, our students, and their 
entire selves in that perspective, particularly now with COVID. 
I really did appreciate the productive meeting that we had. I 
look forward to hear more about your plans to expand access to 
high-quality education, break down barriers for girls, for 
students of color, support our Nation's amazing teachers, 
educators reopen our classrooms in a safe way, that we have to 
do that based on available science, and the incredible strain 
that COVID has placed on all of us.
    We really have to deal with that, so I urge this Committee 
to facilitate a swift confirmation so Mr. Cardona can get right 
to work.
    But, I would like to talk a little bit about STEM and CTE. 
As we discussed in our meeting, one of my top priorities in 
Congress is supporting STEM education and the STEM workforce. 
My Building Blocks of STEM Act, which was signed into law last 
year, expands the National Science Foundation programs to 
increase the participation of girls in computer science. I am 
glad this new law was funded in the last omnibus, but there is 
so much work, more work, to be done, particularly in breaking 
down barriers that stand in the way of students of all ages 
from pursuing STEM careers from all backgrounds. And, so, in 
Nevada, those barriers are really difficult, and we need to 
establish those career and technical apprenticeships and grow 
our teachers who are certified to teach this.
    Dr. Cardona, what changes can the Department of Education 
implement under your leadership to help remove these barriers, 
increase the access to STEM so we can just get all these 
students ready to participate in the workforce? There is, 
hundreds of thousands of jobs available right now in the cyber 
tech field. And, so, how do we go about doing that?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator, for the question. I agree 
that the fields of STEM are just growing. There is greater 
need, and the better we can provide guidance and exemplars of 
where STEM courses and content is integrated into good quality, 
core curriculum, the more likely that we are going to get all 
students to have access to it.
    I was fortunate to participate in different programs, such 
as, Connecticut Girls Who Code Program, and be a part of 
efforts to try to increase participation from girls in programs 
of STEM. And it is something that we need to do not only as an 
agency, but as a Country, to really show that computer science 
is a part of so many of the jobs of today and tomorrow; that it 
is really important that we make sure that our--all of our 
students, including our girls, are getting into that field and 
having more exposure to it earlier.
    I think that is a big part of everyone's work, and I look 
forward to working with you and others, if confirmed, to make 
that a reality.
    Senator Rosen. I appreciate that. I look forward to that, 
too. And I want to build a little bit on what Senator Smith 
talked about and mental health of our students. We have been 
battling the coronavirus for, well, over a year now, almost a 
year. Recent studies have found a dramatic increase in the 
anxiety and depression among children, among young adults, and 
recent--one recent study found that nearly one-third of 
surveyed high school students reported feeling unhappy, 
depressed. In most recent months, more than a quarter of those 
feel disconnected from their teachers, their classmates, their 
school community.
    Unfortunately, in Clark County--we talked about this. We 
have the fifth largest school district in the Nation. Eighteen 
students, 18 students, have taken their lives since March of 
last year, and tragically, this is one of the highest numbers 
of student suicides in the Nation. It is a list nobody wants to 
be on top of. It is absolutely devastating for the families, 
for the classmates, for the community. Our school district, we 
are partnering with non-profits. We are doing everything we can 
for suicide prevention and to get to these kids with pilot 
programs.
    How can we prioritize mental health for our students as we 
try to reopen schools? Our students, our teachers, all those 
wraparound services that we may need, particularly now as we 
hopefully come out of the pandemic, but during these 
challenging times.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, Senator. I first 
share my condolences for those 18 students and their families.
    You are absolutely right. If we are not thinking about 
reopening our schools with mental health support for our 
students at the core of how we are planning, then we are 
missing an opportunity. We--even prior to the pandemic, the 
mental health needs of our learners, of our students, was 
increasing, and a lot of the time that we spent in our schools 
was really to support students from an emotional perspective, a 
mental health perspective, so that they could be successful 
academically.
    Let's not lose this opportunity post-pandemic to really 
redesign, to make sure that the mental health needs of our 
students are first and foremost; that our educators have the 
training that they need to meet their needs; and that our 
schools serve as the hubs of their community to make sure that 
not only do the students feel that they are a part of a 
community within the building, but that the school is a bigger 
part of their community at large; making sure that they have 
the wraparound services and the supports that the families also 
need to help their children be successful.
    I am pretty passionate about that, and I look forward to 
working with you and others, if confirmed, to move this along 
in our Country.
    Senator Rosen. Thank you very much. I know I have exceeded 
my time. I appreciate it. I yield back.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you.
    Senator Lujan, welcome to our Committee. Go ahead.
    Senator Lujan Truly an honor to be with you today, and I 
thank you, Madam Chair Murray, and also Ranking Member Burr for 
the opportunity to ask some important questions today. And I do 
look forward to working with you and the rest of my colleagues 
to not only defeat this pandemic, but expand access to early 
childhood education, strengthen public education and 
apprenticeship programs, and make post-secondary education and 
technical training programs more affordable for millions of 
Americans. So, thank you again so much.
    Dr. Cardona, I want to thank you, as well, today and 
appreciate you being available to testify. I know that your 
experience as a public school teacher, principal, and 
superintendent has prepared you for this moment. And, I want to 
pick up where some of my colleagues have also asked some 
questions, specific in the area of children's mental health.
    Dr. Cardona, I am very concerned that due to COVID-19 and 
disruptions in learning, students are experiencing increased 
stress, anxiety, trauma, mental health challenges, as well as 
their families. Data shows that over 75 percent of students 
receiving mental health care received that care in schools.
    I know this is something that you are committed to and you 
have talked a lot about. But, can you expand on what can be 
done to ensure that students, as well as all of the employees, 
the teachers, the folks that keep the schools looking good, 
that get the kids to school on time and that prepare that 
nutritional food, how they will have access to these important 
mental health programs?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you, Senator, for the question. It is 
true. It really takes the whole village. And, I am pleased to 
see that part of the recovery plan includes funding for 
counselors, to make sure that we have the adequate--we have 
adequate support for our students and their mental health needs 
in order for them to be successful.
    Their bandwidth diminishes if they are worried about what 
might be happening at home, or what they experienced, so it is 
really important that we look at it holistically and make sure 
that we are attending to their mental health needs.
    You brought up a very good point. The educators that 
service and support our learners are also--have also gone 
through trauma, and we have to make sure that our institutions 
and our agencies are also supporting our educators and making 
sure that their mental health is fine so that they can meet the 
needs of our learners.
    Oftentimes, our educators take on a lot of the stressors 
that our students are experiencing, and they--they are trying 
to support the students the best they can. It is critically 
important as we recover from this pandemic that we look at our 
educators' needs, as well, and make sure that we are taking 
care of our educators so that they can take care of our 
students.
    Senator Lujan. Dr. Cardona, one of the reports that I keep 
my eye on is the Annie E. Casey Foundation report on child 
well-being, looking at what needs to be done to provide support 
to kids. I am hoping that there will be a commitment from the 
Department of Education--and with your support--that we look at 
that report and that we understand it, and that we strive to 
make sure that whoever is at the bottom of that list, that we 
work to get them higher up, so that the gaps between who is No. 
1 and who is number 50 are small. Would you care to comment on 
that?
    Dr. Cardona. I look forward to reading more about that, 
learning more about that, and ensuring, as part of--if I am 
fortunate enough to serve as Secretary of Education, that it is 
going to be part of every day of my job to make sure that we 
are minimizing gaps between highest--the top on the list and 
the lowest on the list, and making sure that we are learning 
from one another so that we are learning from best practices.
    I do look forward to hearing more about that, working with 
you and others to learn more about that and make sure that our 
agency is aligned to supporting the work that needs to get 
done.
    Senator Lujan. Thank you, Dr. Cardona. And one thing I 
certainly appreciate is you understand how this crisis has 
exacerbated longstanding inequities in our education system, 
and you have made it a mission to close those equity gaps and 
ensure all students have access to high-quality education, 
including in high-poverty areas, rural communities, and in 
Indian country.
    Dr. Cardona, this is an area where I hope that we will 
continue to see your leadership shine and make a positive 
difference. I do not have a question in that particular area 
because I am short on time, but I just wanted to commend you on 
the work you have done and look forward to what must be done to 
be able to eliminate those gaps in rural and tribal 
communities.
    Broadband, Dr. Cardona, as you know, is something that is 
important to me. I raised this issue with you when we chatted 
before. In addition to closing that digital divide and that 
homework gap, I am curious if you can share with us how you 
plan to work with the FCC in this case. And, in the areas with 
tribal schools across America, in New Mexico, we have 22 Bureau 
of Indian Education-operated schools, 22 tribally controlled 
schools that are under the jurisdiction for the most part of 
the Department of Interior.
    The question that I have for you is, what can we expect on 
how you will collaborate with other Federal agencies to make a 
positive difference in these communities?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for the question, Senator, and I am 
glad you brought up the issue of Native American and Indian 
education. That is an issue that I want to learn more about and 
make sure that our students are receiving a top-quality 
education and feel heard. First and foremost, they need to feel 
heard. And I look forward to working with other secretaries to 
make sure that our interagency support for our students is 
first and foremost, and that we are doing everything we can to 
work together to make sure that the experiences of our learners 
is second to none.
    Senator Lujan. Madam Chair, thank you for the time today.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much. And that 
completes our first round of questions.
    Senator Burr, do you have any additional questions?
    Senator Burr. Madam Chairman, I have just got some follow-
up things to cover, five questions with Dr. Cardona. They are 
yes or no questions. I will be very brief, and I thank you.
    Let me say from the beginning, thank you again for being 
here today, Dr. Cardona. I think you are imminently qualified 
and I look forward to working with the Madam Chair, to 
expeditiously----
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you.
    Senator Burr [continuing]. Get your nomination through. I 
would encourage you--I know that Members, as well as myself, 
will have questions for the record. If you will answer those 
and get them back as fast as you possibly can, that would help 
us to process your nomination.
    Oversight is an important function of Congress, and 
hopefully that can be done in a bipartisan way. But, if not, I 
intend to exercise my oversight authority as Ranking Member of 
this Committee, just as Senator Murray did as Ranking Member.
    Five questions. Do you commit to providing me and my staff 
with the information that I and other minority Members of the 
Committee request from the Department of Education within the 
requested timeframe?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes.
    Senator Burr. Do you commit to providing me and my staff 
with the documents that I or other minority Members request 
from the Department of Education within the requested timeline?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes.
    Senator Burr. Do you commit to providing me and my staff or 
other minority Members of the Committee with briefings 
requested from you or your staff within the requested 
timeframe?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes.
    Senator Burr. Do you commit to providing the Department of 
Education Inspector General and the General Accounting Office 
with any information, briefings, and documents they may 
request?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes.
    Senator Burr. Last, do you commit to testify when called 
before a Congressional committee?
    Dr. Cardona. Yes.
    Senator Burr. Doctor, I thank you. I look forward to 
processing your nomination.
    Madam Chair, I yield back.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you very much, Senator Burr.
    Dr. Cardona, I do have an additional question, comment, and 
then I will close.
    Let me start with my question. We do need to move quickly 
to address the critical needs of students in higher education 
who are really struggling to meet their basic needs--accessing 
food and housing. The pandemic and this resulting economic 
crisis has only worsened this situation for a lot of our 
students and families. I hear from college students in my state 
who are homeless. They are sleeping in their cars. They do not 
have money to eat. They cannot buy textbooks. They are 
uninsured and cannot afford childcare. And the data proves this 
is sadly a very widespread problem, and I just think we need to 
bring a whole-of-government approach to helping students meet 
basic needs and preventing homelessness and hunger, and those 
efforts really are critical to keeping students enrolled in 
college and getting their degree.
    If confirmed, how would you work to make sure we are 
addressing those very basic needs and creating pathways for 
students to be successful?
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you for that question. And, you really 
highlight the reality for so many of our students who are 
trying to access the American Dream through college.
    The first thing I will do, Senator, is make sure that their 
voices are heard and that we understand what they are 
experiencing so that we can shape our policies and make sure 
that we are advocating and using our positions to provide the 
maximum level of support possible for these students.
    Also, working with our colleges to help them and support 
their efforts to make sure that pathways for these students to 
have flexibility in payment and debt relief where possible. 
Make sure we maximize those, as well.
    It is critically important that, if confirmed, that I do 
everything in my power to help these students, these first--in 
many cases, first-generation college students access the same 
goals that I was able to achieve through higher education. So, 
it would be something that I would be honored to do.
    The Chair pro tempore. Okay. Very good. Thank you.
    Dr. Cardona, before we wrap up, I just have one more thing 
I want to say. I was deeply disappointed by the way the Trump 
administration failed to defend the right of all of our 
students to feel safe and to attend school without being 
discriminated against. We have to work together to hold all our 
schools, our school districts, and our institutions of higher 
education accountable for providing safe environments for all 
of our students, and that includes holding them accountable for 
preventing and addressing sexual assault.
    I have heard from survivors, institutions of higher 
education, families, and school districts across the Country 
that we have got to do better, and it has to be a key priority 
for the Department to change the DeVos Title IX Rule. So, I 
want you to know I am going to be looking for quick action on 
that.
    I also just want to make it very, very clear. I agree with 
what Dr. Cardona and Senator Baldwin have said on the 
importance of ensuring the rights of every student, including 
transgender students, are protected, and I look forward to 
working with you to advocate for all students.
    With that, that will end our hearing today. I want to thank 
the Members--all the Members of this Committee for a very 
substantive hearing.
    Dr. Cardona, thank you for your thoughtful testimony and 
answers. I very much appreciate your willingness to serve our 
Nation and to take on this very important assignment.
    Dr. Cardona. Thank you. It is my honor.
    The Chair pro tempore. Thank you. For any Senators who wish 
to ask additional questions of the nominee, questions for the 
record will be due by Thursday, February 4, at 5 p.m. The 
hearing record will remain open for 10 days for Members who 
wish to submit additional materials for the record. It is my 
intention to schedule a vote in Committee on Dr. Cardona's 
nomination as quickly as possible so we can move his nomination 
forward and he can begin the very important work of leading the 
Department of Education.
    Tomorrow, we will convene in this room at 10 a.m. for a 
hearing on the nomination of Mayor Marty Walsh to be Secretary 
of Labor.
    With that, the Committee stands adjourned.

                          ADDITIONAL MATERIAL

letters of support for the nomination of dr. miguel cardona to serve as 
                         secretary of education
               America's Public Television Stations
            1225 S. Clark Street, Suite 1425, Arlington, VA
                                                   February 3, 2021
Hon. Patty Murray, Madam Chair,
Hon. Richard Burr, Ranking Member,
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Madam Chair Murray and Ranking Member Burr:

    America's Public Television Stations strongly support President 
Biden's nomination of Dr. Miguel Cardona as Secretary of Education.

    Connecticut Public, the public television and radio network for the 
state, has had a highly successful and productive partnership with Dr. 
Cardona during his service as Connecticut's Commissioner of Education 
and in his earlier tenure as Assistant Superintendent of Schools for 
Teaching and Learning in Meriden, CT.

    Since early in the pandemic, Connecticut Public has partnered with 
Commissioner Cardona in extending remote learning services to thousands 
of Connecticut students whose schools were suddenly closed.

    America's public television stations do this work everywhere, and 
we look forward to being constructive partners with Secretary Cardona 
in a nationwide remote learning collaborative, both during the pandemic 
and afterward, when the benefits of remote learning will remain 
essential components of the ``new normal'' in education, providing 
specialized enrichment and remedial instruction, preventing ``summer 
learning slide,'' and more.

    In addition, public television stations are providing educational 
datacasting services in a growing number of states, linking students 
without broadband access to the same instructional materials as those 
provided to students on the Internet, and helping to bridge the 
``digital divide'' that disadvantages millions of students nationwide.

    Through our success with Ready To Learn, the pre-school educational 
initiative long supported by this Committee, public television stations 
have helped millions of young children get ready to learn in school and 
succeed in life, and helped narrow the opportunity gap in education 
between children from low-income families and their more affluent 
peers.

    Commissioner Cardona has been supportive of all of these 
educational initiatives undertaken by public television stations.

    Beyond this potential for partnership, we also find the prospect of 
a former teacher and school principal as Secretary of Education 
immensely appealing. Dr. Cardona's inspiring life story and career 
history qualify him in an exceptional way to work with teachers, 
students, parents and other caregivers in improving the quality of 
education for all.

    America's Public Television Stations enthusiastically recommend Dr. 
Cardona's nomination, and we would welcome the opportunity to work with 
him and this Committee to devote the resources of public television 
even more comprehensively to teaching America's children.

            Sincerely,
                                            Patrick Butler,
                                            President & CEO
                               America's Public Television Stations
                                 ______
                                 
                                  Every Hour Counts
                                                   February 2, 2021

    Dear Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee:

    I am writing on behalf of the Every Hour Counts network to express 
support for Dr. Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education nominee, 
ahead of his Senate confirmation hearing. Our network is impressed with 
Dr. Cardona's experience in education and supporting students; we 
wholeheartedly support a swift confirmation.

    Every Hour Counts is a national coalition of citywide 
intermediaries dedicated to increasing access to high-quality expanded 
learning (after-school, summer and expanded in-school learning) 
opportunities, particularly for underserved students. Our intermediary 
partners have worked tirelessly to establish longstanding partnerships 
with more than 3,500 schools, districts and community-based 
org1nizations that provide high-quality after-school and summer 
programming, building systems that collectively reach 500,000 students 
each year.

    Our network looks forward to the opportunity to work with Dr. 
Cardona to prioritize the needs of all students and keep equity at the 
forefront of education initiatives and COVID-19 recovery efforts. This 
pandemic has created urgent crises that need attention and solutions. 
The work of our intermediaries is more important than ever before, as 
the students we serve are navigating learning loss, as well as trauma 
due to food insecurity and racial inequity exacerbated by the pandemic. 
Dr. Cardona's background in bilingual education demonstrates his desire 
to support an inclusive education system.

    Dr. Cardona's dedication to serving as a public school teacher and 
principal in his hometown of Meriden, Connecticut illustrates his 
commitment to community. Our networks operate as the link between 
schools and communities to help keep youth safe and healthy, increase 
academic engagement, achievement and career readiness, and provide 
youth with innovative, individualized enriching opportunities 
throughout the year. We believe that Dr. Cardona has demonstrated a 
commitment to the values that our network upholds through his public 
service.

    Every Hour Counts stands ready to support Dr. Cardona as the U.S. 
Secretary of Education and further enable high-quality expanded 
learning programs to be essential community institutions and important 
drivers of neighborhood vitality. Our network applauds Dr. Cardona's 
expertise and dedication to serving youth and we look forward to his 
tenure as U.S. Secretary of Education.

            Sincerely,
                                            Jessica Donner,
                                         Executive Director
                                 ______
                                 
                     National Education Association
                        1201 16th Street, NW Washington, DC
                                                   February 9, 2021
Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
428 Dirksen Senate Office Building,
Washington, DC.

    Dear Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee:

    The 3.1 million members of the National Education Association are 
proud to enthusiastically support President Biden's nominee for U.S. 
Secretary of Education, Dr. Miguel A. Cardona, and we urge you to vote 
YES on his nomination. Votes on this issue may be included in NEA's 
Report Card for the 117th Congress.

    NEA members teach, support, mentor, and nurture students in public 
schools and on public college campuses across America. They know what 
it is like to look into a student's eyes to determine who's getting the 
lesson, and who's getting left behind--and they know the challenge of 
devising new methods to reach and engage students in the context of 
remote learning. They understand the importance of being present for 
children who are coping with losses or struggling with adult-size 
burdens, or the need to counsel students who must juggle classes, 
families, and full-time jobs. Dr. Cardona, a longtime teacher and 
elementary school principal who has also been an adjunct professor, 
knows this work intimately.

    As an educator and as Connecticut's education commissioner, Dr. 
Cardona would bring to the Education Department desperately needed 
firsthand experience. He would advance the department's mission of 
``fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access'' because 
he has devoted his career to these goals. His commitment stems not only 
from professional expertise, but also from an understanding of the 
hardships students who are learning English face--hardships he dealt 
with as a child whose family moved to Connecticut from Puerto Rico. 
Those struggles helped him to become the dedicated, compassionate, and 
forceful advocate for students that he is today.

    Dr. Cardona is known as a consensus builder and problem solver who 
listens to and actively collaborates with educators, families, and 
communities. Whether as a classroom teacher, principal, or state 
education leader, he has pressed for the resources students deserve. 
Additionally, he has worked with higher education leaders to secure and 
expand students' opportunities for postsecondary education.

    His depth of experience was on full display during his confirmation 
hearing this month, when he was questioned about a variety of issues, 
including mental health resources for students and the need to reform 
the department's Office of Federal Student Aid so that it works on 
behalf of student-loan borrowers. NEA members were particularly 
heartened by Dr. Cardona's commitment to ``make sure our learning 
environments are places that are free of discrimination and harassment 
for all learners.''

    Given the many challenges our Nation continues to face, we have 
confidence that Dr. Cardona will help us to provide the high-quality 
education, safe and welcoming public schools and campuses, and support 
that all students must have in order to thrive.

            Sincerely,
                                        Rebecca S. Pringle,
                                                  President
                                     National Education Association
                                 ______
                                 
    [Whereupon, the hearing was adjourned at 2:38 p.m.]

                                   [all]