Reading Champion Penny Schwinn Expected to Keep Ed. Dept. Focused on Achievement
But if confirmed as deputy secretary, she could find herself in culture war conflicts she鈥檚 previously sidestepped.

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When Penny Schwinn resigned as Tennessee鈥檚 education chief in 2023, she acknowledged that culture war battles over race and gender had interfered with efforts to catch students up after the pandemic.
鈥淚 see it as extraneous politics, and my job is to educate kids,鈥 she told 社区黑料 at the time.
Now she鈥檚 up for the second highest education post in the Trump administration, and advocates hope she鈥檒l keep the spotlight on student achievement, particularly literacy 鈥 even as the new president promises to amp up conflicts she鈥檚 previously sidestepped.
Already, questions about her conservative bonafides prompted an on X Tuesday from right-wing activist Chris Rufo. Rufo said he met with members of Trump鈥檚 education team Monday and asked Schwinn to address 鈥渃riticisms circulating on the Right” about her tenure in Tennessee. In an attempt to shore up support for the nominee, he posted that she vowed to 鈥渟hut down the terrible programs at the Department of Education, fight critical race theory, gender cultism, and DEI in America鈥檚 schools, and support new initiatives on school choice and classical education.鈥
Among supporters, Schwinn is primarily known for pushing the academic needle forward following the devastating effects of pandemic lockdowns in Tennessee. As commissioner under Republican Gov. Bill Lee, she used COVID relief funds to launch a statewide tutoring program and has been credited with revamping instruction to incorporate the science of reading.
鈥淭his gives me hope that the Trump Administration wants to play a constructive role in addressing learning loss and improving our schools,鈥 said Michael Petrilli, president of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute.
Unlike Linda McMahon, Trump’s pick to lead the department, Schwinn has been a teacher and also held top education positions in Delaware and Texas. Supporters call her a smart pick at a time when student performance hasn鈥檛 fully recovered from the pandemic.
Jim Blew, who co-founded the conservative Defense of Freedom Institute and served in the education department during the first Trump administration, called her 鈥渉ardworking, very well-informed and savvy,鈥 and said her experience would be a 鈥渃omplement to Linda McMahon鈥檚 strengths.鈥
Still, some have their doubts. Democrats dislike her strong support for charter schools, while some Republicans pointed to a pandemic plan to conduct well-being checks on children in their homes as an example of government overreach.
Schwinn directed an interview request to a department spokesperson, who said she wouldn鈥檛 be available to reporters prior to her confirmation.
Thomas Toch, director of FutureEd, a Georgetown University think tank, called Schwinn a 鈥減ragmatic Republican鈥 who was able to navigate 鈥渞elationships with deep-red state leaders frequently more interested in leveraging education for political purposes than improving opportunities and outcomes for students.鈥
鈥淪he supports school choice,鈥 he said. 鈥淏ut she recognizes that school choice policies should include creating high-quality choices in public education 鈥 where 90% of the nation鈥檚 students attend school.鈥
Those who think Trump is serious about closing the Education Department might find themselves disappointed, Toch added. He said it鈥檚 unlikely Schwinn would be interested in the job if that was the objective.
Among many positions she鈥檚 held since leaving her post as commissioner, Schwinn has served as an unpaid fellow for FutureEd. In late 2023, she participated in by the organization, calling her work in Tennessee addressing stagnant reading scores 鈥渁 moral imperative.鈥
The state requires districts to screen students for reading difficulties and use a phonics-based curriculum. After it passed a in 2021, roughly 30,000 teachers received in the science of reading.
Amid pushback, Schwinn implemented follow-up legislation that requires third graders to meet state reading expectations or risk being held back. Facing opposition from parents and advocates, Gov. Lee later to let parents and educators decide whether students should be retained.
Recent state test data shows Tennessee students continue to . Thirty-eight percent of students met expectations in reading last school year, continuing to exceed the pre-pandemic level of 34%.

鈥淪uperintendents are growth,鈥 said Sonya Thomas, executive director of Nashville PROPEL, a parent advocacy group focused on literacy. 鈥淭hat wouldn’t have been possible if they didn鈥檛 have Penny pushing school districts to change the way that they were delivering literacy instruction.鈥
Results of the state鈥檚 tutoring effort, meanwhile, have been mixed. In the Nashville district, tutoring accounted for only a small increase in reading scores and had no effect on math performance, .
鈥楺uestionable behaviors鈥
Critics of Schwinn鈥檚 record in Texas and Tennessee point to state contracts and said she doesn鈥檛 exemplify Trump鈥檚 promises to downsize government and protect parental rights.
While she was a deputy under Commissioner Mike Morath from 2016 to 2019, the Texas Education Agency signed a $4.4 million, no-bid contract with SPEDx, a Georgia software startup, despite Schwinn having a 鈥減rofessional relationship鈥 with someone at the company, according to a . With the goal of improving services, the agency gave the company records on hundreds of special education students for analysis without parents鈥 consent.
The state ultimately , lost $2 million and had to pay another $200,000 to who was after filing a complaint about the deal. Citing 鈥渜uestionable behaviors,鈥 a on special education resurfaced the matter in 2023, calling it an effort to 鈥渄ata-mine鈥 private student information. In Tennessee, lawmakers questioned another for the state鈥檚 voucher program.
Regarding SPEDx, Schwinn said at the time that she 鈥渄eeply believed鈥 the company was the only one offering the service, and in Tennessee, she said she was in a rush to roll out the state鈥檚 voucher program when she granted the contract to ClassWallet without seeking other proposals.
Local and attacked a state , never executed, to check in on kids during pandemic school closures. 鈥淥ur children were where they had always been. Homeschools were not closed down,鈥 said Tiffany Boyd, who runs Free Your Children, a Christian homeschool organization. 鈥淲e thought that she was a threat to Tennessee then. We now think that she’s a threat to the entire United States.鈥
But the idea with public school parents either. Tennessee Rep. Mark White, a Republican, was among the lawmakers who fielded complaints from those who worried officials would second-guess their parenting decisions.
Even though the state issued a announcing “monthly child well-being calls,” Schwinn told Rufo she never endorsed the plan, according to his tweet. About a week after unveiling it, she that she 鈥渕issed the mark on communication鈥 and there was no 鈥渂ig brother intent.鈥
Despite the problems, White has no reservations about Schwinn joining the Trump administration. In an email to 社区黑料, he said she had his 鈥渃omplete endorsement鈥 and is 鈥済rateful that Tennessee has a direct connection with the federal Department of Education.鈥
For someone whose resume has only grown over the past 18 months, joining the administration could be limiting. Schwinn holds high-level positions with an and a , and had a brief stint at the . In May, she told 社区黑料 in an email that she was working to launch a nonprofit focused on 鈥渦rgency around student outcomes.鈥 She鈥檚 also listed as for the conservative Heritage Foundation鈥檚 program to train future school board members.
As deputy, 鈥渟he will help improve the implementation鈥 of the policies Trump and McMahon push for, said Dan Goldhaber, director of the . He noted her 鈥済ood reputation,鈥 but said she 鈥渋sn鈥檛 likely to change the direction鈥 of the department.
But with National Assessment of Educational Progress scores set for release next week 鈥 and many 鈥 Toch said her background will be valuable.
鈥淭he administration is going to have to address them. Blaming the Biden administration is going to work for only so long,鈥 he said. 鈥淕iven Schwinn’s experience and expertise, she’s going to have a voice 鈥 on education issues.鈥
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