U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan will step down from his post in December.
Fox News reported Friday that Duncan, who has served as Education Secretary throughout Barack Obama’s tenure as president, will be replaced through the end of the president’s term by former New York State education commissioner and Common Core champion John King, Jr.
King resigned from his post in New York in December of 2014 to take a position as deputy secretary to Duncan.
According to Roll Call, Duncan said he made the decision to relinquish his position after months of traveling between his home and family in Chicago and Washington, and has not announced plans for what he will do in the immediate future.
Duncan’s decision comes as the House and Senate are continuing work on a rewrite of the federal No Child Left Behind law, the latest iteration of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) which was first signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson.