By Ramani Ayer

If you aim to limit the amount of innovation that can happen in the public education arena, one surefire method would be to keep it an insider’s game…

It would be inappropriate to make the qualifications for the role of commissioner too narrow because they necessarily shift, depending on the shifting needs of our state. True, we ideally want a candidate who understands teaching and the administration of public education.

But we also want a candidate who has legal and political expertise. Do we therefore add a legislative requirement that the commissioner have a J.D.? At times, it will be very important for the commissioner to have experience with public communications. Do we then add a requirement of a communications degree? Commissioners will sometimes need to address school funding issues. Should we require that Commissioners have an MBA? Of course not.

Read the full opinion here.