First to ABC: Education Secretary Cardona to tour battlegrounds amid GOP attacks

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona will make a bus tour through three battleground states in September to combat Republican attacks on public education ahead of Election Day.

The four-day tour's theme is “Fighting for Public Education” and it starts after Labor Day in the swing state of Wisconsin.

“The Biden-Harris administration has unapologetically fought for public education, the foundation of opportunity in this country, and the contrast between our efforts and those who wish to destroy public education,” Cardona said in a statement first obtained by ABC News.

The Midwest tour -- which will make stops in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in addition to Wisconsin -- is a direct counter to rhetoric on education from the controversial Project 2025 playbook.

The conservative blueprint calls for increased school choice and parental control over schools and dismantling the U.S. Department of Education. Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump’s Agenda 47 platform similarly backs school choice policies, eliminating tenure for teachers, defunding schools that "promote gender transition," and plans to "promote love of country" in education.

Democrats have called Project 2025 a threat to public education . President Joe Biden and other prominent Democrats like Michelle Obama criticized the plan in their speeches at the Democratic National Convention.

“They want to do away with the Department of Education” Biden said.

In her speech the following night, Obama said: "Shutting down the Department of Education, banning our books -- none of that will prepare our kids for the future."

Cardona criticized the conservative agenda in a recent interview, saying he’s trying to defend public education while opponents are trying to defund it.

The tour is also focused on “accelerating student achievement,” according to the department, as students have suffered severe learning loss after temporary school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The roughly $190 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds from the federal government during COVID has been helpful in tackling these concerns over the last three years, experts say. However, the Biden administration's American Rescue Plan money expires on September 30.

Secretary Cardona told ABC News the recovery dollars were intended to prevent “further exacerbation.”

The tour stops in nine cities, from Milwaukee to Pittsburgh, touching on K-12 and higher ed policies championed during the Biden administration, including Biden’s signature student loan relief plans for millions of Americans. The sweeping plan was blocked by a conservative-leaning Supreme Court last summer.

A Pew Research Center study found that 82% of adults said public education has been trending in the wrong direction for the past five years. Conservatives reject culture war topics like gender identity and topics on race; progressive adults are concerned about gun violence and want safer schools .

Many prominent educators have called for the need to “reset” or restructure the system entirely. Education experts told ABC News that what's called "communities in schools" models which emphasize collaboration with local agencies, are a start. However, they project a full reboot could take five to 10 years to achieve.

Cardona will be joined on the tour by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, White House Domestic Policy Adviser Neera Tanden, education leaders and Education Department officials.