Mark Schneider Nominated to Lead Institute of Education Sciences
Mark Schneider Nominated to Lead Institute of Education Sciences
 
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December 2017

On November 28, President Donald Trump nominated Mark Schneider to be the next director of the Institute of Education Sciences. This would mark a return to IES for Schneider.  From 2005 to 2008, he served as commissioner for the National Center for Education Statistics. He is currently a vice president and an Institute Fellow with the American Institutes for Research.

“Mark Schneider is an excellent choice to lead IES,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “His previous experience as NCES commissioner and his dedication to quality research and trustworthy data and statistics are especially important with the push toward a greater emphasis on evidence-based policy.”

The IES director position has been vacant since the departure of John Easton in 2014. Ruth Neild previously held the delegated duties of the director; Tom Brock currently acts in that role and also serves as commissioner for the National Center for Education Research.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) is expected to hold a confirmation hearing prior to votes by the committee and the full Senate. A date for that hearing has not yet been announced.

In the meantime, the Senate HELP Committee held confirmation hearings on December 13 for several appointees for the Department of Education. These included Johnny Collett as assistant secretary for special education and rehabilitative services, Mitchell Zais as deputy secretary of education, and James Blew as assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development.

Zais and Blew were advanced to Senate consideration on party-line 12–11 votes. Collett was approved by a voice vote.