Last week in a 12-11 vote, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to advance the nomination of Linda McMahon for Secretary of Education. Prior to the vote, COPAA CEO Denise Marshall issued a statement expressing “deep concern with the nominee”, and explained that based on answers provided to the HELP Committee during her nomination hearing, “Ms. McMahon lacks essential knowledge of crucial laws…and, we are not confident she will uphold all tenets and requirements of key federal education, disability and civil rights statutes that Congress has meaningfully aligned to support the 9.5 million children with disabilities to promote their educational access and opportunity.” A date has not been announced for McMahon’s full vote on the Senate floor. COPAA is also monitoring the Senate HELP Committee schedule as they will also consider additional nominees including Kim Richey as Assistant Secretary, Office for Civil Rights.