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U.S. Education Secretary to Future Administrations: "Protect All Students"

Ryan Caron King
/
WNPR
U.S. Education Secretary John King.

The U.S. Secretary of Education said there's a few things the upcoming administration should do to continue the work completed over the last eights years.  

In an interview prior to his visit to Central Connecticut State University, Secretary John King stopped short of commenting on what could happen under Donald Trump and his nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos. But he did offer some advice for future leaders of the nation's top education post.

"The department is a civil rights agency," King said, "with a responsibility to protect the rights of all students. And we've got to be vigilant to ensure that all students feel safe at school, feel welcome at school. Again, regardless of their race or their religion or their sexual orientation or their gender identify. That's the historic role of the department: protecting our students."

But critics of DeVos have said she's more likely to dismantle much of what's been built over the last eight years than build on it.

As a billionaire from a wealthy family, her connections to corporate interests and her expressed desire to teach creationism has many public school advocates concerned. She's also a champion of charter schools and vouchers, which use public money to pay for private schools.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence is also an avid voucher proponent, having spent hundreds of millions of public dollars on religious private schools in his home state of Indiana.

Concerns have also been expressed about Trump's plan to deport 11 million people who are in the country illegally. This includes over a million children -- many of them here through a special visa program that advocates worry could be used to identify and deport them under a Trump administration.

King said all students should be supported, including those who might be here illegally.

"I think it would be a terrible mistake to go backwards," he said, "when we know that these students are benefiting from the access to higher education opportunities and employment, and their communities are benefiting, because as they develop themselves, they're able to contribute more to the community."

King's visit to Connecticut was his last stop in a tour across the country, talking about programs that support at-risk youth and promote equity and opportunity.

David finds and tells stories about education and learning for WNPR radio and its website. He also teaches journalism and media literacy to high school students, and he starts the year with the lesson: “Conflicts of interest: Real or perceived? Both matter.” He thinks he has a sense of humor, and he also finds writing in the third person awkward, but he does it anyway.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.