Trump picks former Tennessee education chief Penny Schwinn as Deputy Secretary of Education

President-elect Donald Trump has named former Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn to serve as Deputy Secretary of Education in his new administration, a move that surprised some hardline conservatives in Tennessee.

Trump announced the pick on Truth Social late Friday evening, initially misspelling Schwinn’s first name as “Peggy.” The spelling was corrected Saturday morning.

“Penny has a strong record of delivering results for children and families,” Trump wrote. “A former teacher herself, Penny became the founding principal of a charter school, because she believes in the power of School Choice, and is committed to delivering the American Dream to the next Generation by returning Education BACK TO THE STATES.”

If confirmed, Schwinn would serve directly under Trump’s Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon.

Schwinn announced her resignation as Tennessee Education Commissioner in 2023. Since her departure, she has served as vice president for K-12 education at the University of Florida.

Gov. Bill Lee praised Trump’s decision as “another strong choice to further his education agenda – delivering school choice & finally returning power back to the states.”

Schwinn, a Sacramento native, was an early appointment in Gov. Bill Lee’s administration and took the post in 2019.

Before coming to Tennessee, Schwinn held several top roles at the Texas Education Agency, and before that, served as Assistant Secretary of Education in Delaware and on the board of education for Sacramento County. She has an undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkley, a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Ph.D. from Claremont University.

During her five-year tenure leading Tennessee’s Education Department, Schwinn led the department through floods, tornadoes and the COVID-19 pandemic, championing policies aimed at combatting learning loss. She also helped resolve five troubled years of technology issues with the state’s TNReady testing system, established the early literacy Reading 360 program, established permanent summer school options, implemented the state’s first school choice program, and oversaw a radical restructuring of the state’s K-12 education funding formula.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Schwinn backed a policy of initiating wellbeing checks for school aged children in collaboration with the Tennessee Dept. of Health, seeking to send government workers to homes to check on children during the coronavirus pandemic. Reports of the policy sparked outrage among lawmakers and residents at the time ― and even talks of a “no confidence” letter. The policy was terminated before it began.

Schwinn approved an $8 million state contract in 2021 with a New York-based company her husband worked for, drawing criticism from lawmakers who said the contract constituted a conflict of interest. Schwinn had disclosed the conflict, and the contract was approved through the state’s central procurement office.

The department also saw a 33% turnover during the early years of her tenure, which had a negative effect on the agency’s ability to serve constituents − or even return phone calls − at the time.

The prominent J.C. Bowman, director of Professional Educators of Tennessee, called her rise to prominence an example of “the Peter Principle, where individuals are promoted until they reach a position in which they struggle to perform.”

“Throughout her K-12 career, her tenure has been marked by significant challenges,” Bowman told The Tennessean. “For those advocating for the dismantling of the US Department of Education, she may be the ideal candidate to facilitate that outcome.”

Hardline conservatives also criticized the pick. In a social media post on Saturday, Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson – a Trump supporter – called the pick a bad one.

Conservative education commentator Dr. Carol Swain called Schwinn “a woke nominee.”

“This does not bode well for educational reform,” Swain said in a social media post. “Who is advising the president?”

Vivian Jones covers state government and politics for The Tennessean. Reach her at vjones@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trump picks Penny Schwinn as Deputy Secretary of Education

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