69ý

Blog

Your Education Road Map

Politics K-12®

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 This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: , .

Federal

Biden Taps Ex-Obama Aide Roberto Rodriguez for Key Education Department Job

By Andrew Ujifusa — April 28, 2021 3 min read
BRIC ARCHIVE
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

President Joe Biden announced Wednesday that he plans to nominate Roberto Rodriguez, one of former President Barack Obama’s top education advisers, to lead one of the most important divisions of the U.S. Department of Education.

Biden wants Rodriguez to lead the Education Department’s office of planning, evaluation and policy development. Rodriguez, a former special assistant to Obama on education policy who also previously worked in the Senate, is currently the president and CEO of Teach Plus, a teacher-advocacy organization.

The office Rodriguez would lead, if confirmed, has played a significant part in past presidential administrations. For example, Carmel Martin, who oversaw the development of the Race to the Top competition and the expansion of School Improvement Grants in the early part of the Obama administration, led the office. Under former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, the office was led by Jim Blew, who came to the department after many years of working to promote school choice.

As a deputy assistant to Obama, Rodriguez played a major role in developing and advocating for the president’s K-12 policy priorities.

Rodriguez defended Race to the Top in a 2012 Education Week article, saying that it was sparking major shifts for schools, such as the adoption of the Common Core State Standards. Both Race to the Top and the standards, of course, became controversial as time went on, and attracted criticism from Democrats as well as Republicans.

“I think the president has made it really clear that the status quo in education is unacceptable,” Rodriguez said in that 2012 story, referring to Obama. “He has embraced reform from day one.”

In a 2016 story on Obama’s education legacy, Rodriguez highlighted the president’s focus on teachers, saying that Obama “has long recognized ... the importance of the adult in the front of the classroom.”

Biden’s selection of Rodriguez to be assistant secretary signals that the president wants a degree of continuity with the Obama administration’s approach. However, with the coronavirus pandemic dominating discussions and plans for schools, it remains to be seen what exact role that office (and Rodriguez, if confirmed) will play. The appetite for big policy initiatives from the Education Department along the lines of Race to the Top could be quite limited; Biden proposed competitive education grants related to COVID-19 in his blueprint for what became the American Rescue Plan, but Congress left them out of the final relief package.

Rodriguez’s organization focuses on teacher leadership

In 2017, the Washington Post as one of several well-connected parents who, with the help of former District of Columbia Public 69ý Chancellor Kaya Henderson, circumvented the District of Columbia’s school lottery system in order to get their children into “coveted” schools.

The organization he currently works for, Teach Plus, works to empower teachers and put them in leadership roles. It focuses on everything from curriculum to teacher diversity. During congressional negotiations in 2015 (before Rodriguez’s time leading Teach Plus) over what became the Every Student Succeeds Act, the group’s members lobbied for lawmakers to as part of the law. The Biden administration has polarized opinion by not granting blanket waivers from those tests, although the testing situation in states has gotten complicated.

Rodriguez worked for Obama from 2009 to 2017. Previously, he worked for Sen. Ted Kennedy on the Senate education committee, and for UnidosUS, a Latino advocacy organization.

“He has a strong track record of shaping bipartisan policy solutions that are informed by the experiences of educators,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a statement about Rodriguez’s nomination. “Roberto is also a fierce advocate for educational equity who will ensure we prioritize, replicate and invest in solutions that work for all students.”

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

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69ý
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

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

Read Next

Federal What a National School Choice Program Under President Trump Might Look Like
School choice advocates—and detractors—see a second Trump term as the biggest opportunity in decades for choice at the federal level.
8 min read
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House, on July 7, 2020, in Washington.
President Donald Trump listens during a "National Dialogue on Safely Reopening America's 69ý," event in the East Room of the White House on July 7, 2020, in Washington. He returns to power with more momentum than ever behind policies that allow public dollars to pay for private school education.
Alex Brandon/AP
Federal Trump's Education Secretary Pick Is Linda McMahon, Former WWE CEO
McMahon led the Small Business Administration in Trump's first term and is co-chair of the president-elect's transition team.
6 min read
Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump in Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019.
Then-SBA Administrator Linda McMahon speaks during a news conference with President Donald Trump at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Friday, March 29, 2019. Trump has tapped McMahon to serve as education secretary in his second term.
Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
Federal What Could RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary Mean for School Vaccine Requirements?
The vaccine skeptic in line to lead the mammoth federal agency could influence schools' vaccine rules, even though they're set by states.
6 min read
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump at a campaign event, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., speaks before President-elect Donald Trump at a campaign event on Sept. 27, 2024 in Walker, Mich. Trump has selected Kennedy to serve as secretary of health and human services in his second term.
Carlos Osorio/AP
Federal Can Trump Force 69ý to Change Their Curricula?
Trump's bid to take money from schools that teach "critical race theory" or pass policies for transgender kids raises legal complexities.
9 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks on crime and safety during a campaign event at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office, Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2024, in Howell, Mich.
Evan Vucci/AP