(CNN) Joe Biden's transition team late Tuesday announced Connecticut Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona as the President-elect's nominee for education secretary. If confirmed by the Senate, Cardona would play a key role in reopening schools across the country that have been forced online amid the coronavirus pandemic. CNN was first to report that Cardona would be nominated for the role. "In Miguel Cardona, America will have an experienced and dedicated public school teacher leading the way at the Department of Education -- ensuring that every student is equipped to thrive in the economy of the future, that every educator has the resources they need to do their jobs with dignity and success, and that every school is on track to reopen safely," Biden said Tuesday night in a statement. The President-elect continued, "He will help us address systemic inequities, tackle the mental health crisis in our education system, give educators a well-deserved raise, ease the burden of education debt, and secure high-quality, universal pre-K for every three- and four year-old in the country."

Source: The Nation December 23, 2020 01:41 UTC