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Trump Taps Rob Goad as White House Education Adviser

By Alyson Klein — January 05, 2017 1 min read
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Rob Goad, a one-time top aide to Rep. Luke Messer, R-Ind., will serve as the education policy point person on the White House Domestic Policy Council under President-elect Donald Trump. The gig sounds a lot like the one that’s been filled by Roberto Rodriguez for the past eight years under President Barack Obama.

Goad took temporary leave from Messer’s office last year to help the Trump campaign with education issues, including a $20 billion school choice proposal.

Goad’s former boss, Messer, is one of the most prominent school choice champions in Congress. When Congress was considering what ultimately became the Every Student Succeeds Act back in 2015, Messer crafted an amendment that would have allowed federal Title I money for disadvantaged kids to follow students to the schools of their choice, including private schools.

That amendment didn’t make it into the final deal, but some experts are betting that Trump could back similar legislation once he takes office. Messer also founded the Congressional School Choice Caucus, and Goad served as its director.

Outside of choice issues, Messer has worked across the aisle with Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., on school privacy legislation.

Goad’s appointment is one sign that education will at least be part of the conversation in the White House. (Presidents aren’t required to pick an education adviser for their domestic policy councils.) And it’s one more signal that school choice could be the top K-12 priority of the Trump administration.

Donald Trump speaks at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, on Monday, June 13, 2016. (AP Photo / Jim Cole)

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