Four undersecretaries of education confirmed
Although none of them are directly responsible for special education, these people are assuming very influential positions in the US education world
On 7 October 2025 the US Senate approved the appointments of four of US President Donald J. Tump’s nominees for assistant secretary positions in the US Department of Education. The approval of the nominees was on a roll call vote (#547) that endorsed scores of appointments “en bloc”; it passed with 51 senators voting to confirm and 47 against confirmation.
The ED appointees (and their positions) are
Kirsten Baesler to serve as Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education, 1
David R. Barker2 to serve as Assistant secretary for Postsecondary Education,
Kimberly Richey3 to serve as Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights,
Mary Christina Riley4 to serve as Assistant Secretary for Legislative and Congressional Affairs
None of these positions are specifically about special education or rehabilitation, but they may influence policy and governance of matters of interest to readers of Special Education Today. Thus, it was sage that Kuna Tavalin covered the approval of the appointments over on the Council for Exceptional Children’s blog;5 she provided notes about the appointees’ previous positions.
Diana Diaz-Harrison is serving as Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. SET published a note about her nomination in May of 2025.
In February 2025 the US ED celebrated the nominations of these (and other) individuals to their sub-cabinet positions. Readers can learn more about their qualifications by reviewing the press release from ED at that time.
Also, see Brooke Schultz’s 7 October 2025 coverage of the confirmation of Ms. Baesler appointment in Ed Week. The Council of Chief State School Officers (an organization composed of state level leaders in the US) published a press release about Ms. Baesler’s appointment.
These senior leaders will be taking their oaths of office in the context of what appears to be another wave of downsizing for the ED. Following cancellations of grants and contracts in February 2025 and earlier layoffs at ED in March 2025, there are emerging reports about substantial layoffs at ED yesterday and today. I’ll be reporting about these as I learn more.
Footnotes
There is a Wikipedia entry about Ms. Baesler.
There is a Wikipedia entry about Mr. Barker.
There is a LinkedIn profile for Ms. Riley; also, SET pal, Callie Oettinger of Special Education Action had a post about Ms. Richey’s appointment on 7 October 2025.
There is a LinkedIn profile for Ms. Riley.
The CEC blog is called “Special Education TODAY,” so it’s appropriate for me to note that SET should not be confused with CEC’s product. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades.