Tag: Education Secretary

Florida’s education system — the one Betsy DeVos cites as a model — is in chaos

The following article by Valerie Strauss was posted on the Washington Post website July 22, 2017:

President Trump speaks to fourth-grade students as he tours St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando on March 3, with Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, second from left, as well as White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, left, and Ivanka Trump. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

The K-12 education system in Florida — the one that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos likes to praise as a model for the nation — is in chaos.

Traditional public school districts are trying to absorb the loss of millions of dollars for the new school year that starts within weeks. That money, which comes from local property taxes, is used for capital funding but now must be shared with charter schools as a result of a widely criticized $419 million K-12 public education bill crafted by Republican legislative leaders in secret and recently signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott — at a Catholic school.

Critics, including some Republicans, say the law will harm traditional public schools, threaten services for students who live in poverty and curb local control of education while promoting charter schools and a state-funded voucher program. Continue reading “Florida’s education system — the one Betsy DeVos cites as a model — is in chaos”

This is what Betsy DeVos thinks about people who oppose her school-choice vision

The following article by Valerie Strauss was posted on the Washington Post website May 29, 2017:

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks at a school-choice event as President Trump looks on at the White House on May 3. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

During the Obama administration, Education Secretary Arne Duncan got pretty steamed at people who opposed his school reform efforts, especially his support for the Common Core State Standards. In 2013, for example, he went after Core critics, telling a group of state schools superintendents:

“It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback is coming from, sort of, white suburban moms who — all of a sudden — their child isn’t as brilliant as they thought they were and their school isn’t quite as good as they thought they were, and that’s pretty scary.”

Continue reading “This is what Betsy DeVos thinks about people who oppose her school-choice vision”

State DFL Chair Ken Martin on Betsy DeVos

 

Chair Martin released the following statement February 7, 2017:

“Today, the Trump Administration forced a dangerously unqualified nominee on the American people. His ‘my way or the highway’ attitude has put too many families in harm’s way and this latest promotion of the most unqualified candidate for Secretary of Education is no different.

“Once she was announced as Trump’s pick to be the country’s highest ranking education official, it was immediately revealed that she had no experience with public schools at all- not as a student, parent, teacher, administrator, nothing.  Her gross incompetence was on full display during the U.S. Senate hearings. When she was before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, she refused to rule out defunding public schools, refused to stand up for kids with disabilities, and failed to answer basic questions about education policy.

“The American people have expressed their displeasure through calls, emails, letters, and social media asking their senators to listen when they say no to Trump’s agenda and not confirm DeVos. Our children and our country’s future are too important to allow an unqualified, enemy of public education to lead the Education Department.”

– See more at: https://www.dfl.org/blog/dfl-news/2017/02/statement-from-dfl-chairman-ken-martin-on-betsy-devos-confirmation/#sthash.kNIDe8QN.dpuf

Betsy DeVos’ Threat to Children with Disabilities

The following article by Meg Benner and Rebecca Ullrich was posted on the Center for American Progress website February 2, 2017:

Introduction and summary

There is something that supporters of school vouchers—such as Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary—will not admit: Children with disabilities can and will be harmed under voucher programs.

Consider Trinity Fitzer: In the spring of 2012 when Trinity was a 6-year-old kindergartener, she was kicked out of the private school she attended using a voucher provided by the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program.1 Over the course of the year, Trinity’s mother had been called several times to pick her up early because of behavioral problems, with school officials calling Trinity “out of control.” According to the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, Trinity suffered from gastrointestinal problems and anxiety, which led to challenging behaviors that her private school was not prepared—or required—to manage. Continue reading “Betsy DeVos’ Threat to Children with Disabilities”

13 Facts that Set the Record Straight on DeVos

The following article by Stephanie Johnson and Coleton Whitaker was posted on the Center for American Progress website January 31, 2017:

AP/Carolyn Kaster
Secretary of education nominee Betsy DeVos testifies at her confirmation hearing in Washington on January 17, 2017.

Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of education, sat before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee on January 17, 2017, for her confirmation hearing. During that hearing, DeVos made a series of statements that avoided straightforward answers, conflicted with her record on various subjects, and expressed confusion about the basic issues affecting students in public schools across America. Spokespeople from President Trump’s transition team and others have similarly made statements about DeVos that diverge from what her record shows.

This column presents 13 facts that set the record straight. These facts debunk DeVos’ “alternative facts” with actual facts and evidence regarding her history as a career megadonor and political influencer. Continue reading “13 Facts that Set the Record Straight on DeVos”