Joe Biden鈥檚 victory has been greeted with an outpouring of emotion from the education community that鈥檚 endured a divisive presidential election and the coronavirus pandemic鈥檚 disruption and trauma.
Many school leaders and others in the K-12 world鈥攖hough not all鈥攅xulted in Biden鈥檚 victory, which was declared by the Associated Press, the standard 91制片厂视频 Week uses when calling election results, and by many other media outlets. The outcome might still be subject to legal challenges from President Donald Trump, who had not acknowledged his defeat to Biden as of late Saturday.
And some reactions also focused on U.S. Secretary of 91制片厂视频 Betsy DeVos, who鈥檚 been champion for school choice, but a bitter enemy of public school advocates during her tenure.
Trump sought a second term with relatively low support from educators. In October, 36 percent of educators had a favorable view of Trump, according to an EdWeek Research Center survey, while 29 percent of educators said they supported him in a 2017 research center survey. And political donors classifying themselves as as of a Center for Responsive Politics analysis from late September.
鈥楢mericans Made a Clear Choice鈥�
The American Federation of Teachers and the National 91制片厂视频 Association, which both endorsed Biden in the general election and have opposed Trump at virtually every turn, expressed their confidence that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris would support public schools and work to address systemic issues in education.
鈥淭ogether, we will strengthen our public schools by investing in neighborhood community schools, dismantling the institutional racism denying access and opportunity for too many students, and building our economy back better so it works for all Americans,鈥� NEA President Becky Pringle said in a Saturday statement.
On Friday, as Biden widened his lead and moved closer to victory, Weingarten said in an interview that she had cried that morning and added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 the first time I felt like I could release emotions in the last five years.鈥�
鈥淛oe Biden and Jill Biden and Kamala Harris all believe in public education,鈥� Weingarten also said.
Democratic lawmakers with leading roles in education policy also congratulated the Biden-Harris win.
鈥淭his election, Americans made a clear choice. They chose hope over fear, unity over division, and science over fiction. In the midst of a global pandemic and economic crisis, Americans expect us to lead,鈥� said Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., the chairman of the House education committee, in a statement.
Meanwhile, Sen. Patty Murray, the ranking Democrat on the Senate education committee, with the Biden-Harris election win. If the Democrats win two run-off Senate elections in Georgia in two months and take control of the Senate, Murray will be first in line to be chairwoman of the committee.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, an influential conservative in education policy and a one-time presidential hopeful, . Arne Duncan, President Barack Obama鈥檚 first education secretary and a vocal critic of Trump and DeVos, And Duncan鈥檚 successor, John B. King Jr., by highlighting a statement from Obama.
91制片厂视频 groups congratulating Biden and Harris also took the opportunity to urge them to take action on pressing K-12 issues.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities, for example, said the Biden administration must immediately focus on addressing how education has been disrupted and students hurt by the coronavirus pandemic. 鈥淓nsuring equity and enforcing civil rights must be the foundation on which the Biden Administration builds its legacy, and it begins now,鈥� the group said.
And GLSEN, which advocates for LGTBQ students鈥� rights, said that while 鈥渁ll of us can now move forward with greater hope,鈥� following Biden鈥檚 victory, 鈥淲e cannot allow ourselves to be complacent. There is much work still ahead to rebuild and repair our schools to ensure that every LGBTQ+ child finds safety and liberation in education.鈥�
As part of his education agenda, Biden has promised to restore Obama administration guidance focused on transgender students鈥� ability to use school facilities that match their gender identity.
Some of the reaction from educators also focused on Harris, the first Black woman on a successful presidential ticket. Brenda Cassellius, the superintendent of Boston Public Schools, shared an image of , the first Black student to integrate an elementary school in the South in 1960.
#AdiosBetsy
However, it was hard to avoid the jubilation鈥攁nd mockery鈥攅ducators aimed at DeVos on Saturday.
The co-leader of the Educators for Biden 2020 group, Arizona teacher Marisol Garc铆a, she was 鈥減roud of every educator who said, it鈥檚 too much and we need to get us a new President,鈥� and added the hashtag #AdiosBetsy. The Chicago Teachers Union Nate Bowling, the 2016 Washington state teacher of the year, . And the president of the American Federation of Teachers鈥� Massachusetts affiliate, Beth Kontos, shared this image of DeVos:
Adios Betsy. public education is not at your mercy any longer.
鈥� Beth Kontos馃尰馃悡#UnionProud #CountEveryVote (@beth_kontos)
Like other Democratic presidential candidates, Biden turned routine presidential cabinet turnover into a pointed barb by if elected.
Not everyone in the K-12 world, of course, was happy with the results.
Max Eden, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute who studies education policy, cautioned that a Biden administration would be a return to the bad old days of the Obama era:
If Biden wins, then people who will tell your children that any political disagreement with their ideological agenda should earn them these epithets will run the Department of 91制片厂视频 (again).
鈥� Max Eden (@maxeden99)
Jeanne Allen, the CEO and founder of the Center for 91制片厂视频 Reform, a school choice advocacy group, and said people should respect those who didn鈥檛 yet see Biden as the president elect. came from Neal McCluskey, the director of the libertarian Cato Institute鈥檚 Center for 91制片厂视频al Freedom, in response to the election results. McCluskey also shared a thought about pluralism:
Watching big celebrations in some places, & others saddened, by Biden鈥檚 win is an important reminder why federalism & subsidiarity are so important: There鈥檚 rarely one 鈥渞ight鈥� answer for diverse people, & harmony is protected when people can make their own decisions.
鈥� Neal McCluskey (@NealMcCluskey)
Others stressed that the 2020 election results should not lead to complacency. Howard Fuller, a veteran school choice advocate and civil rights activist, the end of Trump鈥檚 鈥渞eign of terror鈥� but added, 鈥淔or Black people the Struggle Continues!!!!!鈥�
During his campaign, Biden expressed some strong skepticism about charter schools and said they need more oversight and accountability. That didn鈥檛 stop Nina Rees, the president and CEO of the National Alliance for Public 91制片厂视频 Schools, from congratulating him.
Congratulations President & Vice President is over. looks forward to working with you on expanding access to high quality public schools!
鈥� Nina Rees (@Ninacharters)
Photo: People dance in celebration outside the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2020, in Harrisburg, Pa., after Democrat Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump to become 46th president of the United States. (AP/Julio Cortez)