Tag: Trump Education Department

DNC on Betsy DeVos’s Proposed Campus Sexual Misconduct Rules

DNC Women’s Media Director Elizabeth Renda released the following statement on the new campus sexual misconduct rules Education Secretary Betsy DeVos plans to propose, which “would bolster the rights of students accused of assault, harassment or rape” and “lessen liability for institutions of higher education”:

“The proposed campus sexual misconduct policies from Betsy DeVos and her Department of Education are just the latest example of the Trump administration turning its back on women and victims of sexual assault. These proposed rules are a blatant and disturbing attack on every student who has experienced or could experience sexual assault or misconduct on a college campus, and they exemplify the misplaced priorities of DeVos and the Trump administration. Our government should be fighting to protect victims of sexual assault and hold their attackers accountable. Instead, under DeVos’s leadership, this administration is actively fighting to weaken protections for victims of the sexual assault epidemic that plagues campuses across the country. Democrats will never stop fighting against the Trump administration’s shameful attacks on women, victims of sexual assault, and our country’s values.”

DNC on DeVos Using Federal Funds to Put More Guns in Schools

In response to reports that the Trump administration is considering letting school districts use federal funds to purchase guns, DNC spokesperson Daniel Wessel released the following statement:

“Our nation has a growing gun violence epidemic that has manifested itself in schools across the country. Now, Betsy DeVos wants to take federal funds intended for academic and enrichment opportunities in our poorest schools and allow school districts to purchase firearms. More guns in schools is simply, and obviously, not the answer. Instead of using taxpayer dollars to make students less safe, Betsy DeVos and the Trump administration should stand up to the NRA and join Democrats in working to enact commonsense gun reforms.”

Back To School: DeVos Making It Harder To Pay For An Education

Betsy DeVos is making it harder for students to pay for their education. While Democrats are fighting for accessible and affordable education for all, DeVos has repeatedly taken the side of predatory for-profit schools and made it more difficult for students to pay back their loans.

As students head back to school, here’s a look at some of the steps DeVos has taken against student borrowers:

  • Betsy DeVos announced plans to eliminate the gainful employment rule, which was enacted to ensure for-profit schools give students the skills they need to obtain good-paying jobs.
  • Betsy DeVos issued a proposal that would cut billions of dollars in debt relief for defrauded students.
  • Betsy DeVos withdrew guidance aimed at improving the contracting process for student loan servicers.
  • Betsy DeVos proposed putting student loans on debit cards to oversee and potentially control their usage.

Continue reading “Back To School: DeVos Making It Harder To Pay For An Education”

DeVos Ends Obama-Era Safeguards Aimed at Abuses by For-Profit Colleges Image

The following article by Erica L. Green was posted on the New York Times website August 10, 2018:

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos scrapped a regulation that would have forced for-profit colleges to prove that the students they enroll are able to attain decent-paying jobs. Credit: Michael Reynolds, EPA, via Shutterstock

WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos formally moved Friday to scrap a regulation that would have forced for-profit colleges to prove that the students they enroll are able to attain decent-paying jobs, the most drastic in a series of policy shifts that will free the scandal-scarred, for-profit sector from safeguards put in effect during the Obama era.

In a written announcement posted on its website, the Education Department laid out its plans to eliminate the so-called gainful employment rule, which sought to hold for-profit and career college programs accountable for graduating students with poor job prospects and overwhelming debt. The Obama-era rule would have revoked federal funding and access to financial aid for poor-performing schools. Continue reading “DeVos Ends Obama-Era Safeguards Aimed at Abuses by For-Profit Colleges Image”

Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits

The following article by Danielle Ivory, Erica L. Green and Steve Eder was posted on the New York Times website May 13, 2018:

Secretary Betsy DeVos filled top positions in her department with former employees of for-profit colleges that have been under investigation. Credit: Erin Schaff, The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Members of a special team at the Education Department that had been investigating widespread abuses by for-profit colleges have been marginalized, reassigned or instructed to focus on other matters, according to current and former employees.

The unwinding of the team has effectively killed investigations into possibly fraudulent activities at several large for-profit colleges where top hires of Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, had previously worked.

During the final months of the Obama administration, the team had expanded to include a dozen or so lawyers and investigators who were looking into advertising, recruitment practices and job placement claims at several institutions, including DeVry Education Group. Continue reading “Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits”

DeVos Moves to Loosen Restrictions on Federal Aid to Religious Colleges Image

The following article by Erica L. Green was posted on the New York Times website May 9, 2018:

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos attended Christian schools all of her life and sent her own children to them.CreditTom Brenner/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a lifelong advocate of Christian education, moved on Wednesday to loosen federal regulations on religious colleges and universities, after a Supreme Court decision that restricted states from denying some kinds of aid to religious institutions.

The measure is part of a sweeping deregulatory agenda for the Education Department announced on Wednesday by the White House budget office, which outlined several rules and regulations for the department to scrap or amend. Among those are rules that restrict faith-based entities from receiving federally administered funding. Continue reading “DeVos Moves to Loosen Restrictions on Federal Aid to Religious Colleges Image”

Betsy DeVos was asked, again, about visiting struggling schools. A staffer interjected.

The following article by Kristine Phillips was posted on the Washington Post website April 28, 2018:

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Credit: Ted S. Warren/AP

While attending a robotics competition in her home state of Michigan this past week, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos was asked by a reporter if she had plans to visit some of the struggling schools in the area — the same question that journalist Lesley Stahl asked her during a “60 Minutes” interview a month ago. Her answer then — “Maybe I should” — was highly criticized.

Her answer Friday was more resolute. “I’m not making any school visits today,” DeVos told WDIV Local 4 News reporter Priya Mann, who asked if DeVos would visit Detroit public schools, some of which weren’t far from where the event was taking place. Continue reading “Betsy DeVos was asked, again, about visiting struggling schools. A staffer interjected.”

Betsy DeVos moves to push military families into voucher program

The following article by A.P. Joyce was posted on the mic.com website April 20, 2018:

President Trump greets Education Secretary Betsy DeVos during a White House event last year. Credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is now working to switch to vouchers for school funding for our nation’s military families, and many of them are not happy about it.

On Wednesday, U.S. News and World Report reported that DeVos was meeting with Defense Secretary James Mattis to discuss a plan that would change the way schools on military bases are funded.

Currently military bases and other tax-exempt places fund public schools through a $1.3 billion Impact Aid program. DeVos’ plan would reallocate that money for vouchers that families could use to send their kids to private schools. Continue reading “Betsy DeVos moves to push military families into voucher program”

DeVos review of racial bias guidance stirs controversy

The following article by Lydia Wheeler was posted on the Hill website April 11, 2018:

© Greg Nash

Civil rights groups are fighting to stop Education Secretary Betsy DeVosfrom rolling back Obama-era guidance on school discipline that aimed to protect black students from being punished more severely than their white peers.

DeVos met with education advocates on the left and right last week to talk about the joint guidance the Education and Justice departments issued in 2014 to help schools avoid policies that discriminate, even unintentionally, against black students. Continue reading “DeVos review of racial bias guidance stirs controversy”

Betsy DeVos is using school shootings to justify draconian new discipline guidelines

The following article by Casey Quinlan was posted on the ThinkProgress website March 28, 2018:

A White House commission plans to consider a rollback of Obama administration guidelines on student discipline.

Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Republican lawmakers are considering moves that may undo years of progress in dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.

A White House commission on school safety plans to hold its first meeting on Wednesday. According to Politico, the first meeting will be closed press, but subsequent meetings will have open press. There are already a lot of critics of the commission since teachers and students will be missing from the conversation, and the commission seems to be more interested in media coverage of school shootings and the influence of video games than on reforming gun policy.

But one of the biggest concerns is that the commission is considering rolling back Obama administration guidance on school discipline that discouraged officers from disciplining students and pushed for more positive and less punitive responses to student behavior. In other words, the federal government will undo the Obama administration’s work to keep students in school and out of the criminal justice system. Continue reading “Betsy DeVos is using school shootings to justify draconian new discipline guidelines”