Ainsworth confronts U.S. Education Secretary about regulations impacting Alabama

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December 7, 2023

Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth introduced himself to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona in Washington this week. Ainsworth personally took up an issue he discovered in his work in Alabama that reaches all the way up to the federal level.

While part of a conference with fellow governors and state leaders from across the country on the topic of education innovation, Ainsworth asked President Biden’s education chief why his department is implementing policies that make it harder for students to connect with real-world opportunities through career tech.

“Washington is too far removed from high schools across Alabama to understand the unique needs that our career training programs demand,” Ainsworth told Yellowhammer News.

“Like so many areas, we need less federal intervention so we can innovate, improve, and ensure that our next generation of workers can fill long-lasting, high-paying, 21st Century jobs.”

Ainsworth shared the encounter on social media:

I met with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today and pushed for Alabama’s career tech programs to have more flexibility from federal guidelines. We must cut through the education bureaucracy in order to prepare Alabama’s students for 21st Century jobs. #HKFellows pic.twitter.com/h5JT0CnS4D

— Will Ainsworth (@willainsworthAL) December 6, 2023

“Alabama’s career tech programs are being handcuffed by federal requirements handed down from faceless D.C. bureaucrats, and if we are going to prepare today’s students for the jobs of tomorrow, we need more flexibility,” Ainsworth said.

“I took the opportunity to raise the issue with U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and make our case to him directly.”

The Lt. Governor chairs a commission on the state’s 21st Century Workforce that’s brought school leaders, education policy experts and parents together to study and implement Alabama-specific solutions for challenges facing the public school system.

Earlier this week, Ainsworth said he would “get President Biden straightened out” during his time in D.C.

Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @Grayson270