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Person

Lily Eskelsen Garcia

Nationality:

American
Occupation:

President, National Education Association
Born:

May 1, 1955

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Lily Eskelsen Garcia is a teachers union activist and the former president of the National Education Association (NEA), the largest labor union in the United States. Eskelsen Garcia was considered a top contender for the Education Secretary in the administration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Eskelsen Garcia began her career as a lunch lady and then special education teaching assistant. After attaining an education degree, she worked as an elementary school teacher before being awarded Teacher of the Year in Utah. The award and other labor activism caught the attention of local labor unions, and Eskelsen Garcia was unexpectedly elected president of the Utah Education Association, the state-level chapter of the NEA. In 1996, Eskelsen Garcia got her first position at the NEA, and worked in a variety of roles until being elected its president in 2014. She served the maximum permitted two terms and stepped down from the position in September 2020.

Eskelsen Garcia is known as an opponent of standardized testing, charter schools, the No Child Left Behind Act, and “corporate” education models. She supports the Common Core State Standards initiative, increased education funding, and smaller class sizes.

Eskelsen Garcia was appointed to White House councils by Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, and unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1998. She endorsed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and personally campaigned for her in 2016, and endorsed President-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 Democratic primaries. Eskelsen Garcia was a strong opponent of President Donald Trump and particularly Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, whom she called “one of the most dangerous people” in President Trump’s cabinet. 1

Eskelsen Garcia is a board member of the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank founded and funded by labor unions.

Early Life and Family

Lily Eskelsen Garcia was born in 1955 in Fort Hood, Texas. 2 Her father was an army veteran, and her mother was a Panamanian immigrant. During Eskelsen Garcia’s senior year, she met Ruel Eskelsen. After Eskelsen Garcia graduated from high school, the two married and moved to Colorado where Ruel was serving on an Army base. The two moved to Utah a few years later. Eskelsen Garcia and Ruel would have one natural-born son, Jeremy, and adopt another son, Jared. In 2011, Ruel died from suicide after a long battle with depression. 3

In 2013, Eskelsen Garcia married Alberto Garcia, a Mexican artist whom Eskelsen Garcia had commissioned to create illustrations for a children’s book she was writing. 4

Education

In her mid-20s, Eskelsen Garcia used scholarships and government loans to attend the University of Utah with her husband, and she graduated with a degree in secondary education. Eskelsen Garcia was the first member of her family to attend college. She would later return to the University of Utah for a Master’s degree in instructional technology. 56

Early Career

While living in Colorado Springs after graduating from high school, Eskelsen Garcia got her first job as a lunch lady. A year later, she became an aide to a special-ed teacher. After moving to Utah, Eskelsen Garcia began attending college to get a degree to become a teacher. While at school, she and her husband worked as folk musicians. 7

In 1982, Eskelsen Garcia attained her first formal teaching job at Orchard Elementary School in West Valley, Utah. At Orchard, Eskelsen Garcia became an unofficial advocate for another teacher who was requesting time off work to take care of a sick child. Eskelsen Garcia attempted to negotiate with the administration to allow other teachers to transfer their sick days, but the administration blocked the plan. Eskelsen Garcia’s efforts caught the attention of the Granite Education Association, the local teachers union, which appointed Eskelsen Garcia to its negotiating team. 89

In 1989, Eskelsen Garcia was named Utah’s Teacher of the Year. To protest Gov. Norman Bangerter’s (R-UT) education budget restrictions, the National Education Association organized a rally at Liberty Park in Salt Lake City. Eskelsen Garcia was chosen as a key speaker and to play music to the crowd. 10

National Education Association

In 1990, Eskelsen Garcia was elected president of the Utah Education Association, a state-level affiliate of the NEA, through a write-in election. 11 Eskelsen Garcia had little previous union experience, and her election was considered a surprise. 12 In this position, Eskelsen Garcia personally negotiated with Gov. Bangerter to implement class size reductions across Utah. She gained the governor’s support, and his administration implemented caps on a grade-by-grade basis, but was stopped by the legislature at grade four due to cost increases. 13 Eskelsen Garcia also started and served as the first presidents of the Children at Risk Foundation and Utah State Retirement System. 14

In 1996, Eskelsen Garcia was elected to the nine-member NEA national council. She remained on the council until 2003, and worked part-time at Orchard Elementary School. 15

In 1998, Eskelsen Garcia temporarily left the NEA to run for Congress. She returned shortly after losing the election. 16

In 2000, Eskelsen Garcia was appointed to President Bill Clinton’s White House Strategy Session on Improving Hispanic Education. 17

In 2002, Eskelsen Garcia was elected secretary-treasurer of the NEA and would serve two three-year terms. She moved to Washington, D.C., to work at the NEA’s headquarters. 18

In 2008, Eskelsen Garcia was elected vice president of the NEA, and was reelected again in 2011. 1920 While in office, Eskelsen Garcia worked with then-president Dennis Van Roekel to raise an additional $3 annual membership dues for NEA members. By 2014, the Great Public Schools Fund had amassed $60 million. 21

Eskelsen Garcia was appointed by President Barack Obama to the White House Commission for Education Excellence for Hispanics. 22

In 2014, Eskelsen Garcia was elected president of the NEA unopposed. She was the union’s first Hispanic president and its first female president since 1983. Eskelsen Garcia served the maximum two terms in the role and stepped down from office in 2020. 23

Policy Views

Eskelsen Garcia opposes what she calls the “global education reform movement” (GERM), a focus on school competition, school vouchers, education privatization, and “corporate” education management. She considers President George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind Act to be an example of this education reform approach. 24

Garcia generally opposes charter schools. 25 She opposes most modern charter schools as forms of so-called corporate education, especially those run by for-profit companies. 26

Eskelsen Garcia is a harsh critic of standardized testing in schools. She believes they create a needlessly competitive school environment and shift education to “obsessive” test preparation. 27

Eskelsen Garcia opposes permitting teachers to be armed in school. 28

Eskelsen Garcia supports the Common Core Standards Initiative, a curriculum restructuring generated under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Education in 2010. Eskelsen Garcia has said that the original Common Core plan was heavily revised by teacher union input, and its current form closely resembles her own preferred teaching style. 29

Obama Administration

In the summer of 2014, shortly before Eskelsen Garcia became president of the NEA, the NEA passed a resolution calling for the resignation of President Obama’s Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, for supposedly undermining public education and supporting standardized testing. Eskelsen Garcia’s support for the resolution is unknown, but she did not bring the petition up to President Obama when they met in September 2014 after her election to NEA president. Duncan ultimately did not resign. 3031 Eskelsen Garcia later met with Duncan and said in an interview that he was not aggressive enough in his support for teacher union-aligned education approaches. 32

2016 Presidential Election

In 2016, NEA voted to endorse Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. 33 Clinton attended and spoke at the annual NEA annual conference in July 2016. 34 Eskelsen Garcia actively campaigned for Clinton. 35 The NEA PAC gave $279,250 to the Hillary Victory Fund. 36

Opposition to President Trump

Shortly after President Donald Trump’s election, Eskelsen Garcia said that the president’s comments on foreigners, Muslims, and transgender individuals had psychologically harmed children, and that she had personally comforted children named Mohammed, Juanita, and Alfredo, as well as transgender children who wanted to use school bathrooms. She told the National Press Club:37

We are facing a reckless, irresponsible administration that creates chaos and confusion — which is bad. But [Trump] does something worse: He creates fear in children. And that is unforgivable. For the first time in our country’s history — and I’ve talked to these teachers — we have had to comfort crying children because they are afraid of their president.

Eskelsen Garcia led labor union opposition against President Trump’s education secretary Betsy DeVos. Eskelsen Garcia characterized DeVos’s education views as being fundamentally anti-public school in favor of private schools and homeschooling. In 2017, Eskelsen Garcia said of DeVos and her supporters:38 There is absolutely nothing that will stop these people from the dangerous agenda they have of profitize, privatize and … throw a middle-class child into the street saying, ‘Let them eat for-profit vouchers.’

In 2017, Eskelsen Garcia condemned President Trump’s budget plan which proposed cutting the Department of Education’s budget by $9.2 billion as a “wrecking ball” to public education. The cuts were never passed. 39

COVID-19 Pandemic

On April 2, 2020, Eskelsen Garcia co-wrote an article with Jill Biden, wife of then-Democratic Presidential nominee presumptive Joe Biden, and American Federation of Teachers (AFT) president Randi Weingarten. The article gave recommendations to parents on how to assist their children in the online teaching process. 40

In July 2020, President Trump endorsed resuming in-person schooling despite the continued COVID-19 pandemic. In response, Eskelsen Garcia condemned Trump for not emphasizing safety measures. On July 7, 2020, Eskelsen Garcia testified before Congress on guidelines for returning to school. A few days later, in an interview with “New Day,” Eskelsen Garcia stated that to consider in-person classes, schools would need personal safety equipment and cleaning procedures that meet Centers for Disease Control prevention standards. She added that these measures should be financed by the federal government as part of a COVID-19 financial relief program like the HEROES Act. 41

2020 Presidential Election

Eskelsen Garcia was an early supporter of Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election and is considered instrumental in pushing the NEA to endorse Biden in March during the Democratic primaries. Although Biden had the support of most union members, many members expressed dissatisfaction in the choice and pushed for more left-leaning candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). 42

After Biden won the Democratic primary, NEA voted to endorse Biden for president at the annual NEA conference, giving Biden the largest margin for a presidential endorsement in the organization’s history. 43 In her public statement, Eskelsen Garcia called the Biden-Harris ticket a “’dream team’ for our public schools and our students.” She praised Biden and Harris’s moral characters, their commitment to financially supporting public schools, and Biden’s promise to fire education secretary Betsy DeVos. 44

The NEA PAC gave $102,500 to the Biden Victory Fund. 45

Biden Transition

After media outlets projected that Joe Biden had won the 2020 presidential election, Eskelsen Garcia was speculated as a potential pick for the next education secretary by the Washington Post and Politico. 4647

On November 9, Politico named Eskelsen Garcia as Biden’s most likely pick, followed by AFT president Randi Weingarten and Learning Policy Institute CEO Linda Darling-Hamond. Politico noted that Biden had promised to select a public school teacher for the post, and that he received much support from teacher unions, making Eskelsen Garcia a logical choice. 48 As runner-up, Weingarten was considered comparatively more radical and activist-oriented than Eskelsen Garcia, which would reduce her support from Republicans. 49 In addition, Eskelsen Garcia was an early supporter of Biden and was considered instrumental in gaining Biden the NEA’s endorsement in the Democratic primaries. 50

Jill Biden has connections to both Eskelsen Garcia and Weingarten. In April 2020, Jill Biden co-wrote an article with the two union leaders on advice to parents to help their children attending school digitally from home. Jill Biden, who is employed as a teacher, is also a member of the NEA. 51

1998 Congressional Run

In 1998, Eskelsen Garcia ran for Utah’s 2nd Congressional seat as a Democrat against Republican incumbent Rep. Merrill Cook (R-UT). Eskelsen Garcia earned 45% of the vote and lost the election. 52 Her defeat has been attributed to backfiring negative campaign ads. 53

Campaign for America Speech Controversy

In November 2015, during a speech to left-of-center advocate group Campaign for America, Eskelsen Garcia said:54

We diversify our curriculum instruction to meet the personal individual needs of all of our students, the blind, the hearing impaired, the physically challenged, the gifted and talented, the chronically tarded [sic] and the medically annoying.

Eskelsen Garcia later apologized and clarified that she meant to say “chronically tardy” and refer to students who used their problems to “annoy” teachers. 55

References

  1. Walker, James. “Teachers’ Union Boss Says DeVos Is ‘One of the Most Dangerous People’ in Trump Cabinet.” Newsweek. June 2, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.newsweek.com/teachers-union-boss-betsy-devos-most-dangerous-people-trump-cabinet-1508061.
  2. “Candidate Profile for Professional Quarterly.” CNN. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/1998/states/UT/H/02/lily.eskelsen.html.
  3. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  4. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  5. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  6. “North Salt Lake teacher elected head of NEA.”
  7. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  8. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  9. “NEA President Profile: Lily Eskelsen Eskelsen Garcia.” NEA. Accessed November 16, 2020. http://ftp.arizonaea.org/home/NEA-President-Profile.html.
  10. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  11. Tanner, Courtney. “Meet the former Utah teacher on the short list for education secretary under President-elect Biden.” Salt Lake Tribune. 11/10/ 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2020/11/10/meet-former-utah-teacher/.
  12. Colvin, Richard Lee. “Teacher of the Year to Union President.” Education Next. April 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-year-union-president/.
  13. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  14. “Vice President, National Education Association Lily Eskelsen Eskelsen Garcia.” NEA. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20130824213547/http://www.nea.org/home/1694.htm.
  15. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  16. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  17. “About Lily.” Lily’s Blackboard. Accessed November 17, 2020. http://lilysblackboard.org/about/.
  18. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  19. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  20. Balderston, Bill. “The NEA’s Circus.” Labor Notes. August 9, 2011. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://labornotes.org/blogs/2011/08/nea%E2%80%99s-circus.
  21. Colvin, Richard Lee. “Teacher of the Year to Union President.” Education Next. April 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-year-union-president/.
  22. “Lily Eskelsen Eskelsen Garcia Receives U of U 2019 Distinguished Alumna Award.” University of Utah College of Education. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://education.utah.edu/alumni/profiles/lily-eskelsen.php.
  23. Colvin, Richard Lee. “Teacher of the Year to Union President.” Education Next. April 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-year-union-president/.
  24. Colvin, Richard Lee. “Teacher of the Year to Union President.” Education Next. April 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-year-union-president/.
  25. Colvin, Richard Lee. “Teacher of the Year to Union President.” Education Next. April 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-year-union-president/.
  26. Safier, David. “Interview with Lily Eskelsen Garcia, President of the National Education Association.” Tuscon Weekly. November 3, 2014. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2014/11/03/interview-with-lily-eskelsen-garca-president-of-the-national-education-association.
  27. Colvin, Richard Lee. “Teacher of the Year to Union President.” Education Next. April 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-year-union-president/.
  28. “NEA President Lily Eskelsen Eskelsen Garcia on Arming Teachers.” C-Span. August 28, 2018. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4745887/nea-president-lily-eskelsen-Eskelsen Garcia-arming-teachers.
  29. Colvin, Richard Lee. “Teacher of the Year to Union President.” Education Next. April 8, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.educationnext.org/teacher-year-union-president/.
  30. “Q&A: National Education Association President on Obama, Duncan.” NPR. September 3, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/09/03/345287406/q-a-national-education-association-president-on-obama-duncan.
  31. Simon, Stephanie; Emma, Caitlin. “Duncan rejects union call to resign.” Politico. July 7, 2014. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.politico.com/story/2014/07/arne-duncan-dismiss-resignation-call-national-education-association-108615.
  32. Safier, David. “Interview with Lily Eskelsen Garcia, President of the National Education Association.” Tuscon Weekly. November 3, 2014. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2014/11/03/interview-with-lily-eskelsen-garca-president-of-the-national-education-association.
  33. “Analysis: NEA Endorses Biden by Largest Margin in 24 Years – but With Fewer Delegates Voting – at Virtual Convention.” The 74 Million. August 14, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.the74million.org/article/analysis-nea-endorses-biden-by-largest-margin-in-24-years-but-with-fewer-delegates-voting-at-virtual-convention/.
  34. Walker, Tim. “’I’m With You,’ Hillary Clinton Tells NEA Delegates.” NEA. July 5, 2016. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/im-you-hillary-clinton-tells-nea-ra-delegates.
  35. “Who Are Contenders for Biden’s Cabinet?” New York Times. November 11, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/11/us/politics/biden-cabinet.html.
  36. “National Education Assn: Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/national-education-assn/C00003251/expenditures/2016.
  37. Burr, Thomas. “Former Utah teacher who now leads the National Education Association says Trump is scaring children to tears.” Salt Lake Tribune. September 8, 2017. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.sltrib.com/news/education/2017/09/08/former-utah-teacher-who-now-leads-the-national-education-association-says-trump-is-scaring-children-to-tears/.
  38. Vyse, Graham. “The Battle Against Betsy DeVos Isn’t Over.” The New Republic. February 7, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://newrepublic.com/article/140464/battle-betsy-devos-isnt-over-senate-confirmation.
  39. Resmovits, Joy. “7 things you need to know about how Trump’s budget would affect schools in California and nationwide.” Los Angeles Times. May 23, 2017. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-trump-budget-education-20170523-htmlstory.html.
  40. Biden, Jill; Eskelsen Garcia, Lily; Weingarten, Randi. “Jill Biden and leading teachers: How to school your kids.” CNN. April 2, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/opinions/covid-19-how-to-school-kids-biden-garcia-weingarten/index.html.
  41. Budryk, Zack. “Teachers union president dares Trump to sit in classroom amid coronavirus ‘and breathe that air.’” The Hill. July 8, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020/. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/506368-teachers-union-president-dares-trump-to-sit-in-school-class-amid.
  42. Will, Madeline. “Endorsements Still Touchy for Teachers’ Unions in Presidential Election Season.” Education Week. March 23, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/03/25/endorsements-still-touchy-for-unions-in-election.html.
  43. “Analysis: NEA Endorses Biden by Largest Margin in 24 Years – but With Fewer Delegates Voting – at Virtual Convention.” The 74 Million. August 14, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.the74million.org/article/analysis-nea-endorses-biden-by-largest-margin-in-24-years-but-with-fewer-delegates-voting-at-virtual-convention/.
  44. Jotkoff, Eric. “NEA President: The Biden-Harris Ticket Is “Dream Team” For Public Education and Students.” NEA. August 11, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.nea.org/about-nea/media-center/press-releases/nea-president-biden-harris-ticket-dream-team-public-education.
  45. “National Education Assn: Expenditures.” Open Secrets. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.opensecrets.org/political-action-committees-pacs/national-education-assn/C00003251/expenditures/2016.
  46. Meckler, Laura; Douglas-Gabriel, Danielle; Strauss, Valerie. “With DeVos Out, Biden plans series of reversals on education.” Washington Post. November 9, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/biden-education-change/2020/11/08/b5b25c7a-21d5-11eb-a688-5298ad5d580a_story.html.
  47. “Meet the Contenders for Biden’s Cabinet.” Politico. November 7, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/07/joe-biden-cabinet-picks-possible-choices-433431.
  48. “Meet the Contenders for Biden’s Cabinet.” Politico. November 7, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/11/07/joe-biden-cabinet-picks-possible-choices-433431.
  49. LaGrange, Kris. “A Union Leader for Education Secretary? Yes!.” UComm Blog. November 16, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://ucommblog.com/section/national-politics/union-leader-education-secretary-yes.
  50. Will, Madeline. “Endorsements Still Touchy for Teachers’ Unions in Presidential Election Season.” Education Week. March 23, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/03/25/endorsements-still-touchy-for-unions-in-election.html.
  51. Biden, Jill; Eskelsen Garcia, Lily; Weingarten, Randi. “Jill Biden and leading teachers: How to school your kids.” CNN. April 2, 2020. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/02/opinions/covid-19-how-to-school-kids-biden-garcia-weingarten/index.html.
  52. Robinson, Doug. “Former lunch lady Lily Eskelsen Garcia goes to Washington to run for the NEA.” Desert News. February 17, 2014. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2014/2/17/20535548/former-lunch-lady-lily-Eskelsen Garcia-goes-to-washington-to-run-for-the-nea#lily-eskelsen-national-education-association-vice-president.
  53. Bernick Jr., Bob. “2nd District mudslinging could trigger a backlash.” Desert News. October 29, 2004. Accessed November 16, 2020. https://www.deseret.com/2004/10/29/19858517/2nd-district-mudslinging-could-trigger-a-backlash.
  54. Moser, Laura. “National Teachers Union Chief Says She Didn’t Mean to Call Kids “Chronically Tarded” and “Medically Annoying.”” Slate. December 2, 2015. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/12/nea-s-lily-eskelsen-Eskelsen Garcia-apologizes-for-calling-kids-chronically-traded-and-medically-annoying.html.
  55. Moser, Laura. “National Teachers Union Chief Says She Didn’t Mean to Call Kids “Chronically Tarded” and “Medically Annoying.”” Slate. December 2, 2015. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://slate.com/human-interest/2015/12/nea-s-lily-eskelsen-Eskelsen Garcia-apologizes-for-calling-kids-chronically-traded-and-medically-annoying.html.
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