HARTFORD – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), released the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Dr. John B. King Jr. as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Murphy, who is a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, is committed to ensuring that all students are given the support and resources they need to reach their full potential and become career-ready. 

“As the son and husband of former teachers and as a parent to two young boys, quality education is personal to me. Every student in Connecticut and across the country has the right to a first-rate education, regardless of their race, income, or disability. That’s why I voted to confirm John King. John had a perfect blend of experience as a teacher, administrator and policy maker. He will make sure that the new elementary and secondary education law is implemented in a way that both returns power to the states while upholding our history of viewing education through a civil rights lens."

Murphy authored several provisions in the new Every Student Succeeds Act to support underperforming schools, improve educational achievement among children in distressed neighborhoods, and reform school disciplinary practices. Murphy is also the co-author of the Every Child Counts Act to ensure that students with disabilities receive the high-quality education they deserve, and of the Students Before Profits Act to protect students from deceptive practices in the for-profit college sector.