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| ===Commission on the Future of Higher Education=== | ===Commission on the Future of Higher Education=== | ||
| In September 2005, Spellings announced the formation of the Secretary of Education's ], which has also been referred to as the Spellings Commission.<ref>{{cite web|title=In Focus: The Spellings Commission|url=http://www.insidehighered.com/news/focus/commission|work=Inside Higher Ed}}</ref> The commission was charged with recommending a national strategy for reforming post-secondary education, with a particular focus on how well colleges and universities were preparing students for the 21st-century workplace. It had a secondary focus on how well high schools were preparing students for post-secondary education. Spellings described the work of the commission as a natural extension into higher education of the reforms carried out under No Child Left Behind, and is quoted as saying: "It's time we turn this elephant around and upside down and take a look at it."<ref name="ihe2006"></ref> | In September 2005, Spellings announced the formation of the Secretary of Education's ], which has also been referred to as the Spellings Commission.<ref>{{cite web|title=In Focus: The Spellings Commission|url=http://www.insidehighered.com/news/focus/commission|work=Inside Higher Ed}}</ref> The commission was charged with recommending a national strategy for reforming post-secondary education, with a particular focus on how well colleges and universities were preparing students for the 21st-century workplace. It had a secondary focus on how well high schools were preparing students for post-secondary education. Spellings described the work of the commission as a natural extension into higher education of the reforms carried out under No Child Left Behind, and is quoted as saying: "It's time we turn this elephant around and upside down and take a look at it."<ref name="ihe2006"></ref> | ||
| ===Controversy in academic fraud case=== | |||
| In 2007 and up to Jan 2009, she was involved in an academic fraud case with the ], ] concerning ATS's and NWCCU's failure to comply with 34 CFR 602.22 and 34 CFR 602.23 which related to two civil cases in Santa Clara Superior Court (Chapel vs. Western Seminary, 1-07-CV-082457 and Nye-Wilson vs. Western Seminary, et al. 1-07-CV-089064). Subsequently, documentation was withheld and two federal civil lawsuits were filed against her (in Northern CA<ref name="Chapel vs. USDE, Spellings"></ref> and in Hawaii <ref name="Nye-Wilson vs. USDE, Spellings"></ref>). Documents and answers for missing documents were finally produced months later, thus invoking two further lawsuits. The school in question, ] was at the center of it all. Former students Randy Chapel in 2002 and Kevin Ford in 2008 did not complete their attempted suicides<ref name="Baptist seminary faces “corruption” charges"></ref>. Chapel sued Western in 2003<ref name="Chapel vs. Western"></ref> and as part of that settlement, Chapel was to receive a degree that is subject to 34 CFR 602.22 and 34 CFR 602.23 oversight. | |||
| ==Media appearances== | ==Media appearances== | ||
Revision as of 10:33, 20 January 2009
| Margaret Spellings | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 8th United States Secretary of Education | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 20, 2005 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Rod Paige |
| Succeeded by | Arne Duncan (designate) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1957-12-30) December 30, 1957 (age 67) Michigan |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Robert Spellings |
| Alma mater | University of Houston |
Margaret Spellings (born Margaret Dudar on November 30, 1957) is the current Secretary of Education under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush and was previously Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy to President Bush. She was one of the principal authors of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act that aimed at reforming primary and secondary education. In 2005, she convened a Commission on the Future of Higher Education to recommend reform at the post-secondary level. She is married to Robert Spellings, who practices law in Washington, DC and has lobbied for the adoption of school vouchers in Texas.
Early life
Margaret Spellings was born in Michigan and moved with her family to Houston when she was in the third grade. Spellings graduated from Sharpstown High School in 1975.
Margaret Spellings earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Houston in 1979 and worked in an education reform commission under Texas Governor William P. Clements and as associate executive director for the Texas Association of School Boards. Before her appointment to George W. Bush's presidential administration, Spellings was the political director for Bush's first gubernatorial campaign in 1994, and later became a senior advisor to Bush during his term as Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000.
Secretary of Education
Following Rod Paige's departure as Secretary of Education, despite the fact that she had never been a teacher or school administrator, Spellings was nominated to the post of the Secretary of Education by George W. Bush on November 17, 2004, confirmed by the U.S. Senate on January 20, 2005, which also marked the beginning of Bush's second presidential term, and sworn in on January 31 the same year. She is the second female Secrtary of Education.
Opposition to Postcards from Buster television episode
On January 26, 2005, between being confirmed and sworn in as the eighth Education Secretary, Spellings sent a letter to the head of PBS condemning an episode of the show Postcards From Buster that featured Buster the Bunny visiting Vermont and interacting with the children of a lesbian couple. The mostly live-action show focuses on real children and in this episode the two women are never mentioned as being lesbians. Spellings criticized the use of government funds to produce the episode saying "many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in this episode."
Openly gay U.S. Representative Barney Frank (D-Mass.) publicly criticized Spellings in a letter regarding her "degrading comments": "You have said that families should not have to deal with the reality of the existence of same-sex couples, and the strong implication is that this is something from which young children should be shielded." PBS decided not to distribute the episode, although independent PBS stations have opted to air it.
No Child Left Behind
In April 2005, on PBS's The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, she called Connecticut's resistance to the No Child Left Behind Act the "soft bigotry of low expectations." According to the program's transcript, she said:
- "I think it's regrettable, frankly, when the achievement gap between African-American and Anglo kids in Connecticut is quite large. And I think it's unfortunate for those families and those students that they are trying to find a loophole to get out of the law as opposed to attending to the needs of those kids," Spellings said.
- "That’s the notion, the soft bigotry of low expectations, as the president calls it, that No Child Left Behind rejects."
In actuality, the suit resulted from the federal government forcing states to spend state dollars on extra tests, which Connecticut regarded as unfunded mandates which the law specifically prohibits.
In a January 2007 speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Spellings claimed, "Everybody here knows that before this act became law, kids often moved from grade to grade, and nobody knew whether or not they had learned to read, write, add, or subtract. We invested billions of dollars and basically just hoped for the best. The lack of accountability helped create an achievement gap where poor and minority students lagged far behind their peers. Not once in all my travels have I met a parent who didn't want their child learning on grade level now—let alone by 2014. I know I do, and I'm sure every parent in this room agrees."
Controversy overseeing student loan programs
On Thursday, May 10, 2007, Spellings testified before the House Education and Labor Committee responding to criticism from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that the Education Department had been "asleep at the switch" in overseeing student loan programs, allowing corruption and conflicts of interest to spread.. Spellings has further gone on record to say that she is disregarding the suggestion by the Inspector General to hold the loan companies accountable for their gaffe.
Commission on the Future of Higher Education
In September 2005, Spellings announced the formation of the Secretary of Education's Commission on the Future of Higher Education, which has also been referred to as the Spellings Commission. The commission was charged with recommending a national strategy for reforming post-secondary education, with a particular focus on how well colleges and universities were preparing students for the 21st-century workplace. It had a secondary focus on how well high schools were preparing students for post-secondary education. Spellings described the work of the commission as a natural extension into higher education of the reforms carried out under No Child Left Behind, and is quoted as saying: "It's time we turn this elephant around and upside down and take a look at it."
Controversy in academic fraud case
In 2007 and up to Jan 2009, she was involved in an academic fraud case with the Association of Theological Schools, Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities concerning ATS's and NWCCU's failure to comply with 34 CFR 602.22 and 34 CFR 602.23 which related to two civil cases in Santa Clara Superior Court (Chapel vs. Western Seminary, 1-07-CV-082457 and Nye-Wilson vs. Western Seminary, et al. 1-07-CV-089064). Subsequently, documentation was withheld and two federal civil lawsuits were filed against her (in Northern CA and in Hawaii ). Documents and answers for missing documents were finally produced months later, thus invoking two further lawsuits. The school in question, Western Seminary was at the center of it all. Former students Randy Chapel in 2002 and Kevin Ford in 2008 did not complete their attempted suicides. Chapel sued Western in 2003 and as part of that settlement, Chapel was to receive a degree that is subject to 34 CFR 602.22 and 34 CFR 602.23 oversight.
Media appearances
- Spellings appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy! (episode airing November 21, 2006). She was the first sitting Cabinet member to appear as a contestant on the show. She came in second with a score of $11,100, losing to actor Michael McKean's $38,800.
- She has been the only active member of the Bush Administration to appear on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, as of her appearance on May 22, 2007. She also appeared on The Colbert Report on July 22, 2008.
- She appeared over the phone on NPR's News Quiz Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! on March 8, 2008.
References
- Houston Independent School District
- "Bush Taps Spellings For Education". CBS News. Associated Press. 2004-11-17. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
- "Rice confirmation vote delayed". CNN. 2005-01-20. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
- "Spellings Sworn In as Education Secretary". Fox News. AP. 2005-01-31. Retrieved 2008-07-26.
- de Moraes, Lisa (2005-01-27). "PBS's 'Buster' Gets An Education". The Washington Post. p. C1.
{{cite news}}: Text "url[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A40188-2005Jan26.html" ignored (help) - de Moraes, Lisa (2005-02-18). "Who Framed Buster Rabbit? The Fallout Continues". The Washington Post. p. C7.
- http://www.cnn.com/2007/EDUCATION/05/04/student.loans.education.reut/index.html
- http://chronicle.com/news/article/3735/secretary-spellings-stands-up-to-senator-clinton?nb
- "In Focus: The Spellings Commission". Inside Higher Ed.
- http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/09/08/measure
- Chapel vs. USDE, Spellings
- Nye-wilson vs. USDE, Spellings
- Baptist seminary faces “corruption” charges
- Chapel vs. Western
- J! Archive, Show #5107
- The Daily Show, May 22 2007
- TV.com The Colbert Report Episode Guide
- Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! : NPR
External links
- U.S Department of Education Biography
- Margaret Spellings's Motivational Commencement Speech
- The Commission on the Future of Higher Education's home page
- Doug Lederman, "The Secretary Offers a Preview," Inside Higher Ed September 8, 2006
- Secretary Spellings' Remarks on the Fifth Anniversary of the No Child Left Behind Act
- Gerald Bracey's Huffington Post article, Margaret Spellings: An Argument for Abolishing the Federal Department of Education
- Opposing view: One approach can't fit all By John Strassburger, USA today
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Order of precedence | ||
| Preceded bySamuel W. Bodman | United States Presidential Line of Succession 14th in line |
Succeeded byJames Peake |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded bySamuel Bodman United States Secretary of Energy |
United States order of precedence United States Secretary of Education |
Succeeded byJames Peake United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs |
| United States secretaries of education | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Members of the Cabinet of the United States | ||
|---|---|---|
| Cabinet members |  | |
| Cabinet-level members | ||
| acting Cabinet of Joe Biden | ||
