Penny Schwinn, President Donald Trump’s choose for the number two position at the Department of Education, may become a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Trump just announced his appointment of Schwinn, original Tennessee education ministry director, to the place of assistant secretary of education to offer with Secretary-Designate Linda McMahon. Trump emphasized Schwinn’s commitment to free education, which is a crucial problem for those on the right trying to revive an severely underdeveloped American educational system.
But school option is only one of many pressing concerns for republicans. In schools across the nation, Schwinn’s track report on those” society war” issues is less than remarkable, and critical race theory and gay hypothesis, which Trump himself campaigned against and is expected to sign an executive order blocking, are still prevalent.
She admitted it herself. In a 2023 meeting with The 74, Schwinn boasted about her potential to avoid fighting significant cultural conflicts in K-12 training, calling them “distracting”.
Many prominent voices in Tennessee spoke out against Schwinn after the news of her visit, including Dr. Carol Swain, a political commentator and former Vanderbilt law and politics teacher, who said,” Mr. President, I hope you will talk to conservative voices in the state who led the fight against critical theory and La supplanting traditional education practices. Whoever recommended Ms. Schwinn hasn’t told you the full story”.
Schwinn holds the approvals of her former boss, Governor. Bill Lee, R-Tenn., and former Gov. Jeb Bush, R-Fl., while apparently being held in high esteem by education industry publications like The 74 and EducationWeek. However, the conservative world is suspicious when that is your area.
Schwinn has received criticism for everything, from her handling of the coronavirus pandemic to her dragging her feet to ban critical race theory and pornographic material ( presented under the guise of” transgender inclusivity” ) in schools.
However, amid the criticism, Schwinn did get the backing of at least one prominent and trusted conservative in the education space: Christopher Rufo, who is considered one of the first people to open the floodgates on exposing critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion ( DEI ) in schools.
I asked Penny to respond because there were criticisms circulating on the Right. She addressed the criticisms directly and outlined her plan to fight CRT, gender cultism, and DEI in America’s schools. Here’s what I learned.
First, Penny did not allow “porn in schools” while she was education commissioner in Tennessee. The opposite is true. Penny worked diligently to enshrine the law while under her leadership, finesing non-compliant schools with up to$ 5 million in fines and revoke their licenses for teachers who push porn in the classroom, and tightening restrictions on explicit materials in Tennessee. Additionally, she put in place a requirement that all teachers release the full list of classroom books and make it available to parents. These are some of any state’s best policies.
Second, Penny did not endorse government “wellbeing checks” during COVID. One of her staff members mentioned “wellbeing checks” in a line in a PDF during the pandemic, but Penny immediately removed it and made it clear that she opposed any such policy. Tennessee was one of the first states to reopen schools in August 2020 thanks to Penny’s tireless efforts. Under her administration, there were no “wellbeing checks,” and she is aware of the danger of government intrusion into the home. She is the mother of two adopted children.
Numerous conservatives who spoke with The Federalist have expressed concern about Rufo’s support for Schwinn, but they are unsure of his decision.
” ]Schwinn ] was an absolute disaster”, Robby Starbuck, a Tennessee political commentator and documentary filmmaker, told The Federalist. ” Nice woman, friendly, but did a terrible job when it mattered”.
A Williamson County, Tennessee, chapter of Moms for Liberty also joined the chorus of Tennesseans opposed to Schwinn’s nomination, adding,” Our official position is that we are 100 % against Penny Schwinn’s nomination for Dep. Sec. of Education. She is the queen bee of indoctrination and left a trail of destruction in TN filled with rotten curriculum, ( Wit and Wisdom ) DEI programs,’ wellness checks,’ masking, CRT and SEL. There was also a$ 8mil government contract given to her husband’s company. Please send a letter to your senator stating your opposition to this nomination right away.
Schwinn is an alumna of the Chiefs for Change Future Chiefs leadership development program, where “diversity, equity, and inclusion are core” principles.
For her part, Schwinn has said that her” core values really center on equity, integrity, for all, no matter what”.
According to a 2022 Axios article titled” Understanding Tennessee’s teacher diversity problem”, Schwinn’s education department was lauded for partnering with Vanderbilt University in a U. S. Department of Education-funded research project aimed at “get]ting ] more teachers of color into the classroom”.
” There’s a lot of hunger in the system for trying to ensure that there’s equity of opportunity”, Jason Grissom, a Vanderbilt professor and chief investigator in the study, told Axios. ” We want to have a high-quality teacher workforce, and a dimension of quality is diversity. And I believe that is acknowledged by all the state.
Schwinn appeared eager to use the findings of the study.
According to the outlet, Tennesseeee teachers have an incredible impact on their students ‘ success, and our state is already investing and innovating to help train teachers to work in our classrooms, according to Schwinn. We can benefit from additional research that helps our state and school districts recruit the teachers needed to set all students on a path to success, both in terms of policy and practice.
Schwinn’s time as commissioner seems to be filled with instances where she let the ideology run, most notably the waiver for the state’s” Wit &, Wisdom” English curriculum, which “received failing grades from initial reviewers of the state textbook commission,” as reported by the Tennessee Lookout.
Conservative organizations like Moms for Liberty and Parent Choice Tennessee argued that the curriculum taught critical race theory and other subject matter that was against Tennessee law. According to the Williamson Herald, Schwinn declined to have her department look into a complaint made by the neighborhood Moms for Liberty chapter regarding the curriculum because the allegations date from the previous academic year.
According to The Center Square, Schwinn’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, where she implemented” child wellbeing checks,” which might include “wellbeing liaisons” visiting the homes of Tennessee children, is one of her main concerns. A refusal from a parent “would be noted in a database,” the outlet claimed. However, the program did require parental consent to speak to children.
” Penny Schwinn was pro-masking kids, she tried to impose child “wellness checks” during COVID, she referred to kids as the state’s children, and she allowed CRT + pornographic books in schools even though our state banned them,” Starbuck recently stated on X. ” I hope President Trump will reconsider her nomination”.
Rufo is wrong to suggest that Schwinn did not endorse the program, especially in a way so far removed as a random staff member inserting a line in a PDF, despite the fact that the program was eventually withdrawn after parents and legislators complained.
Press releases made claims about how crucial these checks must be, according to Schwinn.
Child wellbeing checks are a deliberate way all stakeholders in the community can help ensure the needs of our children are met, according to Schwinn in a press release announcing the checks.” We know many children have experienced adversity as a result of the pandemic. I’m encouraged by the work and commitment made by the Task Force and our districts to help kids and their holistic needs.
Schwinn’s lackluster performance during the pandemic did not stop at the “wellbeing checks”, however. She also caught the attention of a state legislator who, according to The Center Square, expressed concern about her delayed “rollout of a school reopening plan” and the department’s emphasis on” social and emotional learning,” one of the buzzwords under which DEI and critical race theory are occasionally implemented. She also caught the attention of her weak on masking in schools ( allowing school districts to decide for themselves.
Schwinn faced a potential” no confidence” vote from legislators, according to reports, and Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn. — then the mayor of Maury County — called for her resignation in September 2020.
According to Swain and others, Schwinn “never enforced” the state’s ban on “prohibited concepts in curriculum” like critical race theory, and the Tennessee education system was a” train wreck”.
” It frightens me that Ms. Schwinn is being pressured by some powerful conservatives. I’ve been contacted about scheduling a meeting with her,” Swain said. ” My position on Ms. Schwinn is simple. We should examine her record rather than her oaths to adopt conservative educational principles. The conservatives in Tennessee who have dealt with her have no confidence in her.
In a meeting with Schwinn, who “acted as if she had no idea about any of it,” John Rich, a musician and activist in Tennessee, claimed he pointed out particular age-appropriate materials.
A much more strong law, which would have held teachers and administrators accountable for showing this content to children, was “killed,” Rich wrote on X. The law that was actually enacted, he said, does not hold educators accountable and only punishes book publishers, distributors, or vendors who sell to public schools.
It is still not against the law for schools in Tennessee to have pornographic material that is accessible to minors, he wrote. When all of this transpired, Penny Schwinn was in charge.
The U. S. Department of Education declined to comment.
Breccan F. Thies is an elections correspondent for The Federalist. He previously covered issues of culture and education for Breitbart News and the Washington Examiner. He is a Publius Fellow at the 2022 Claremont Institute and holds a degree from the University of Virginia. You can follow him on X: @BreccanFThies.
