On Saturday November 7, it was announced the former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) received the electoral votes required to win the presidential election. In the days since, President Elect Biden has begun to share his plans for the transition between administration.
It is important to note that this transition planning is technically still informal, as the General Services Administration (GSA) has not begun the formal transfer of power or authorized transition funding to be used by the Biden-Harris team.
At this time, the Biden-Harris Transition Team has put out a public website: https://buildbackbetter.com. This includes priorities for COVID-19, economic recovery, racial equity, and climate change. President-Elect Biden outlines four national efforts as part of an economic recovery strategy:
- Mobilize American manufacturing and innovation to ensure that the future is made in America, and in all of America;
- Mobilize American ingenuity to build a modern infrastructure and an equitable, clean energy future;
- Mobilize American talent and heart to build a 21st century caregiving and education workforce; and
- Mobilize across the board to advance racial equity in America.
In addition, Linda Darling-Hammond was named as the head of the education transition team. Darling-Hammond has an extensive career in the education field, including Professor of Education Emeritus at the Stanford School of Education, past President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute and President of the California State Board of Education. Darling-Hammond also ran the education transition team for former President Barack Obama in 2008.
Darling-Hammond will lead the Department of Education Review Team of volunteers, comprised of the following individuals:
- Ary Amerikaner, The Education Trust
- Beth Antunez, American Federation of Teachers
- Jim Brown, United States Senate, Office of Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (Retired)
- Norma Cantu, University of Texas at Austin, School of Law
- Jessica Cardichon, Learning Policy Institute
- Keia Cole, MassMutual
- Lindsay Dworkin, Alliance for Excellent Education
- Donna Harris-Aikens, National Education Association
- Kristina Ishmael, Open Education Global
- Bob Kim, John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- James Kvaal, The Institute for College Access & Success
- Peggy McLeod, UnidosUS
- Paul Monteiro, Howard University
- Pedro Rivera, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology
- Roberto Rodríguez, Teach Plus, Inc.
- Shital Shah, American Federation of Teachers
- Marla Ucelli-Kashyap, American Federation of Teachers
- Emma Vadehra, The Century Foundation
Full information on the Biden-Harris campaign platform pertaining to education and workforce development can be found here.
Meredith Hills, Senior Associate for Federal Policy