02.06.21
Murkowski Questions Secretary of Education Nominee on Meeting the Needs of Rural Communities
In a U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee hearing to consider the nomination of Dr. Miguel Cardona to be the Secretary of Education, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) highlighted a number of challenges our small rural schools have and emphasized that the Department of Education's Office of Rural Outreach should play a role in crafting Department policies that impact those schools, not trying to make policies fit rural schools as an afterthought. She also reiterated the importance of addressing educational disparities that exist for students without in-person instruction who also lack of access to reliable internet, which makes learning during COVID-19 nearly impossible.