The $175 Billion Impact: 5 Major Accomplishments Of Miguel Cardona As Secretary Of Education
Since taking office, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona has spearheaded some of the most consequential and controversial policy shifts in American education in decades, focusing heavily on student loan relief and post-pandemic recovery. As of late 2024, his tenure is defined by an aggressive pursuit of targeted student debt cancellation, a massive overhaul of federal financial aid, and a push to address the severe learning loss that resulted from school closures. His work has been marked by both historic successes and significant operational challenges, particularly with the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
The core of Secretary Cardona’s mission has been to "Raise the Bar" for education, ensuring equitable access from Pre-K to higher education and restoring the promise that a college degree is a pathway to the middle class, not a burden of crippling debt. His actions have directly affected millions of students, borrowers, and educators across all 50 states, making his time as the nation's 12th Education Secretary a period of profound change and intense scrutiny.
Secretary Miguel Cardona: Biographical Profile
Dr. Miguel Angel Cardona became the 12th United States Secretary of Education on March 2, 2021, following a distinguished career rooted in public education. His professional trajectory from a fourth-grade teacher to the head of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides a unique, on-the-ground perspective to federal policy.
- Full Name: Miguel Angel Cardona
- Born: July 11, 1975 (Age 49 as of late 2024)
- Hometown: Meriden, Connecticut
- Education:
- B.A. in Bilingual/Bicultural Education, Central Connecticut State University (CCSU)
- M.S. in Bilingual/Bicultural Education, University of Connecticut (UConn)
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership, University of Connecticut (UConn)
- Career Highlights:
- Fourth-Grade Teacher (Meriden Public Schools)
- Principal (Youngest principal in the school district's history)
- Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning
- Commissioner of Education for the State of Connecticut (2019-2021)
- 12th U.S. Secretary of Education (March 2, 2021 – Present)
1. The Historic $175 Billion Student Loan Debt Relief Initiative
The most defining and high-profile accomplishment of Secretary Cardona's tenure is the unprecedented scale of student loan debt relief delivered to American borrowers. While the administration’s initial broad-based forgiveness plan was blocked by the Supreme Court, the Department of Education, under Cardona's leadership, shifted focus to highly targeted relief programs.
The total loan forgiveness under the Biden-Cardona administration has surpassed $175 billion, benefiting more than 4.8 million Americans as of late 2024.
Key Mechanisms for Debt Cancellation:
- The SAVE Plan (Saving on a Valuable Education): This new Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) plan, championed by Cardona, offers the most affordable monthly payments in history, often as low as $0, and prevents a borrower's balance from growing due to unpaid interest. However, its future was complicated in late 2024 when a Court of Appeals fully blocked the plan, a decision the Department of Education vowed to continue fighting.
- Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Overhaul: The Department implemented a temporary PSLF Waiver to fix the program’s historically low success rate. This waiver allowed millions of public servants—including teachers, nurses, and military members—to count past payments that were previously ineligible, leading to massive loan cancellation for dedicated public workers.
- IDR Account Adjustment: Cardona’s ED conducted a one-time adjustment to correct historical inaccuracies in Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) tracking. This action provided immediate forgiveness for hundreds of thousands of borrowers who had been in repayment for 20 years or more but never received the promised relief.
- Borrower Defense to Repayment: The Department has aggressively used this program to forgive loans for students defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges, recouping millions of dollars from institutions found guilty of misconduct.
2. Navigating the Tumultuous FAFSA Simplification and Overhaul
A major legislative mandate for Cardona was the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act, designed to streamline the notoriously complex financial aid application process. The launch of the new 2024-2025 FAFSA cycle, however, proved to be one of the most significant operational failures of his tenure, causing widespread delays and confusion for students and colleges.
In response to the crisis, Secretary Cardona took several decisive actions in 2024 to restore confidence and functionality:
- Full-Scale Review of Federal Student Aid (FSA): Cardona announced an in-depth evaluation and modernization of the FSA office, acknowledging that the agency was not equipped to handle the complexity of the FAFSA overhaul.
- Restructuring and Accountability: He published an eight-point plan to restructure senior leadership and operations within FSA, aiming to improve its technological and operational capabilities for future cycles.
- Transparency and Communication: The Secretary issued a public letter to college presidents and the public, detailing the issues faced during the launch and outlining specific measures being taken to ensure a smoother 2025-2026 FAFSA rollout.
3. Addressing K-12 Pandemic-Induced Learning Loss and Recovery
A core focus of Cardona's work has been deploying the historic $170 billion in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to help K-12 schools recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cardona continuously urged schools to prioritize these funds toward high-impact strategies to combat pandemic-induced learning loss, focusing on three key areas:
- Academic Recovery: Encouraging the use of high-intensity tutoring, summer school programs, and extended learning time to close achievement gaps, especially in high-poverty communities (Title I schools).
- Mental Health and Well-being: Prioritizing the hiring of more school counselors, nurses, and mental health professionals, which Cardona identified as a top priority for Fiscal Year 2024.
- The "Engage Every Student" Initiative: This program was launched to ensure every student has access to high-quality, evidence-based afterschool and summer learning programs, recognizing the need for both academic and social-emotional development outside of the traditional school day.
Cardona has consistently emphasized that there is no "magic strategy" for recovery, but rather a need for sustained, targeted investment in instruction and innovative school models to raise the bar for all students.
4. Restoring Higher Education Accountability
Beyond student loans, Cardona has worked to strengthen institutional accountability to protect students from predatory practices and ensure taxpayer dollars are well-spent. This focus on Higher Education Accountability aims to prevent future debt crises by holding colleges responsible for poor student outcomes.
- "Gainful Employment" Rule: The Department reinstated and strengthened the "Gainful Employment" rule. This regulation cuts off federal financial aid access to career-focused programs (mostly at for-profit colleges) whose graduates have unmanageable debt loads or low earnings relative to their educational costs.
- Financial Responsibility Standards: ED has increased scrutiny of colleges, particularly those facing financial distress, to protect students from sudden closures and ensure they can complete their degrees or receive loan forgiveness.
5. Championing Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Workforce Development
Recognizing the evolving needs of the American economy, Secretary Cardona has been a vocal champion for integrating Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Workforce Development into the K-12 and post-secondary systems. His goal is to break down the traditional walls between academic and career pathways.
He has pushed for greater investment in programs that offer industry-recognized credentials, apprenticeships, and direct pathways to high-demand, high-wage jobs. This focus aims to ensure that post-secondary education, whether a four-year degree or a technical certification, directly translates into economic opportunity for students.
In summary, Miguel Cardona’s tenure as Secretary of Education has been a period of aggressive action on student debt, a challenging but necessary modernization of financial aid, and a nationwide effort to recover and reimagine K-12 schooling after a global pandemic. His legacy will be measured by the long-term success of the $175 billion in targeted debt relief and the effectiveness of the reforms he instituted to make the federal education system more equitable, affordable, and accountable.
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