On the nomination of Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education, First Focus on Children President Bruce Lesley issued the following statement:
First Focus on Children urges the Senate to fulfill its responsibility to fully vet all Administration nominees and we will continue to raise concerns any time a potential leader poses a danger to children. On the appointment of Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education, we firmly believe that the education secretary should have thorough experience in public education and a vision to support all students. We question whether McMahon meets that standard and we have serious concerns as to whether her limited education experience is sufficient to have an adequate understanding of the range of issues that our students face. All students across the country deserve a candidate who has a breadth of experience in supporting students from diverse backgrounds, and we urge the Senate to ask thorough questions regarding the background of McMahon and her vision for how to best support public education.
McMahon serves as the Chair of the Board and Chair of the Center for the American Worker at the America First Policy Institute, a group that has shared high levels of enthusiasm for school voucher programs. School vouchers strip funds from public education, can discriminate against students, and have not been found to promote academic achievement. We urge the Senate to question any pro-voucher policies that McMahon may champion and ensure that any proposals would not impact public school funding. Beyond her experience at the America First Policy Institute, McMahon’s past education experience is limited – she served a year on the Connecticut Board of Education and had a stint on a university’s board of trustees.
We hope the Senate will ensure that any education secretary recognizes students’ rights and approves a candidate that will center children in their decision-making. This incorporates supporting student health, such as keeping vaccine mandates in place, ensuring availability of school nurses, and keeping school health resources intact. To support all students, it is essential to uphold the rights of those from underserved communities, such as by maintaining funding for Title I, IDEA and English Language Acquisition, advocating for protecting the Office for Civil Rights, and prioritizing the safety of LGBTQ+ students. We also hope that the secretary will support our students’ First Amendment rights and the ability to learn an accurate depiction of history, which means opposing book bans and censorship in school curriculum.
We are alarmed by the pending lawsuit against McMahon raised by five victims who allege that she enabled sexual and emotional abuse of children as the head of World Wrestling Entertainment. Due to the severity of these allegations and the inherent role the Department of Education has in protecting children, we call on the Senate to hold the confirmation of this nomination until this issue is fully vetted. It is crucial that the Senate thoroughly reviews this allegation and asks questions regarding McMahon’s alleged involvement. The role of our public education system is to protect and educate the students of our country, and we would of course adamantly oppose anyone involved in child sexual abuse to head the department that leads our schools.
We are grateful to the Senate for its important role in vetting the nominees for the cabinet of President-elect Trump. We urge senators to ensure that any candidate for Secretary of Education has not been involved in sexual exploitation of children, has a concrete background in education policy, and recognizes and supports the rights of all students.