14 Facts About Inez Tenenbaum

Inez Tenenbaum is an American lawyer and politician who served as South Carolina Superintendent of Education and as chairperson of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Inez Tenenbaum received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina, Columbia in 1986, where she was an associate editor-in-chief of the South Carolina Law Review.

Originally a public school teacher, Inez Tenenbaum entered state government as an employee of the South Carolina Department of Social Services.

Inez Tenenbaum later served as the director of research for the Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee of the South Carolina House of Representatives.

Inez Tenenbaum was elected State Superintendent of Education in November 1998 and re-elected in November 2002.

Inez Tenenbaum focused her administration on six key initiatives to fuel education progress in South Carolina: raising the academic bar and embracing accountability for student academic progress, improving teacher quality, providing quality early childhood education for all children, supporting strong and effective school leadership, promoting safe and healthy schools, and increasing parent and community involvement.

In 2005, following parental complaints, Inez Tenenbaum removed Chris Crutcher's book, Whale Talk, from the state's English reading list for middle grades.

Inez Tenenbaum defended South Carolina's progress, noting that the state was rapidly narrowing the gap between its students' test scores and the national average.

Inez Tenenbaum was succeeded as Superintendent of Education by Democrat Jim Rex on January 10,2007.

Inez Tenenbaum was confirmed in that position by the US Senate unanimously on June 19,2009.

On February 28,2013 Inez Tenenbaum announced that she will not seek renomination when her term expires in October 2013.

In October 2010, Inez Tenenbaum announced a five-year strategic plan, which established a new mission and vision for the Commission.

Inez Tenenbaum was the Democratic candidate in the 2004 election for retiring Democrat Fritz Hollings's seat in the US Senate; she lost to Republican nominee Jim DeMint by 152,783 votes.

Inez Tenenbaum's practice focuses on consumer product safety and risk management, working particularly with manufacturers and retailers of consumer products to ensure compliance with applicable consumer product safety requirements and to protect the client's brand.