On November 17 President Bush tapped his domestic policy adviser, Margaret Spellings, to replace Rod Paige as U.S. Secretary of Education. Spellings is one of the primary authors of the landmark K-12 education reform bill No Child Left Behind and a longtime adviser on education to the president. Her appointment awaits confirmation by the Senate.
The 46-year-old Spellings advised Bush on education issues when he was governor of Texas and formerly acted as the associate executive director of the Texas Association of School Boards. No Child Left Behind was modeled in part on the accountability-centered measures enacted by Spelling and other education leaders in the state of Texas.
Spellings is "no stranger to the complex and critical issues that American must continue to address to strengthen and advance our nation's total education system," said NASFAA President Dallas Martin.
"She has the breadth of experience from her work in Texas and as the president's domestic policy adviser that makes her a knowledgeable person for this important position," Martin added. "We at NASFAA welcome the opportunity to work cooperatively with her as she assumes the position of Secretary of Education."
Of Spellings' relationship with Bush, an associate and former White House colleague of Spellings' told The Washington Post that, "She understands what he thinks. They're very, very close."
While President Bush did not specifically make mention of plans for higher education in his nomination speech, he indicated a continued administration commitment to promoting college preparation and advancing the accountability standards first enacted at the K-12 level.
"Margaret Spellings and I are determined to extend the high standards and accountability measures of the No Child Left Behind Act to all of America's public high schools," Bush said. "We must ensure that a high school diploma is a sign of real achievement, so that our young people have the tools to go to college and to fill the jobs of the 21st century."
Spellings also failed to mention specific goals for higher education in her remarks, but in an emotional speech accepting the nomination she noted, "I am a product of our public schools. I believe in America's schools, what they mean to each child, to each future president or future domestic policy adviser, and to the strength of our great country."
"If confirmed by the Senate, I commit to work alongside America's educators and my new colleagues at the Department of Education to make our schools the finest in the world," she added.
Senate education committee minority leader Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) also issued a statement regarding Spellings' nomination, calling her "a capable, principled leader who has the ear of the President and has earned strong bipartisan respect in Congress."
By Elizabeth B. Guerard
NASFAA Assistant Director for Communications
Posted November 18, 2004 on www.NASFAA.org, the Web Site of the
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA).
Copyright 2004. Redistribution to non-NASFAA institutions is prohibited
Please submit Web Site questions or comments to web@nasfaa.org
