Betsy DeVos, Trump’s education pick, hints at sweeping changes ahead

[Theodarzna]

Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Education, indicated that she was open to radically rethinking the federal government’s role in education on issues from sexual assault cases on college campuses to cutting federal support for the nation’s public schools in a contentious confirmation hearing Tuesday evening.

Democratic senators repeatedly pressed DeVos to spell out her specific vision for the Department of Education, but the education activist and billionaire from Michigan kept mostly to generalities, outlining a broad vision of school choice where parents could use state money to send their kids to private or charter schools. Democratic senators questioned whether this would drain money from already struggling public schools and reduce options for children with special needs.

In her opening statement, DeVos said students should have the option of “magnet, virtual, charter, home or faith-based” schooling, but stressed that the “vast majority” of kids would remain in traditional public schools.

The Trump transition team was aware DeVos would face heat in her confirmation hearing. Peter McPherson, the president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and former deputy secretary for the Treasury, coached DeVos for the hearing, according to a source on the transition team. She was calm and collected under aggressive questions from the committee’s Democrats, but also at times appeared evasive or unprepared, declining to answer direct questions about whether she would support certain specific policies or not.

When pressed by Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, DeVos would not commit to maintaining the same or higher level of federal funding for public schools. She told Sen. Bob Casey she would “review” federal regulations that govern sexual assault allegations on college campuses. DeVos told Sen. Elizabeth Warren that she would also review the department’s gainful employment rule that revokes federal funding of colleges whose graduates have low employment rates—an Obama-era crackdown on for-profit colleges. She said states should decide whether all schools—charter and public—should be required to meet the needs of kids with disabilities.

DeVos and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., meanwhile, got into a protracted back and forth about whether she believed public schools and charter schools should face the same government accountability standards. DeVos asserted several times that she believes in accountability in general without answering Kaine’s question about whether the standards should be the same.

Two of the committee’s Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, signaled some reservations about DeVos. Murkowski said her constituents are “concerned” about DeVos’ nomination because in rural districts, school choice is not an option. Collins mentioned offhand that the two did not see eye to eye on some issues, without elaborating.

(source)

Hopefully she tears up the Title IX nonsense that has plagued campus'. The OCR 'Dear Colleague' letter was a disgrace.

[NYC17]

http://theconcourse.deadspin.com/tru...-wh-1791314783

[Super Kami Dende]

How to boost your School Funding. Stop giving money to stupid shit or to other countries as "Aid" and put it towards your own people.

[Darsithis]

In her opening statement, DeVos said students should have the option of “magnet, virtual, charter, home or faith-based” schooling

They already do.

It's not the government's place to pay for private, charter, or FAITH-BASED schooling.

[PACOX]

They already do.

Gotta keep the buzzwords buzzing, know what I mean?

[Darsithis]

Gotta keep the buzzwords buzzing, know what I mean?

I have no idea what you mean.

[PosPosPos]

I have no idea what you mean.

He means that more christian conservatives will jump on the Trump ship because their faith-based education was getting more attention, buzzwords being "faith-based" and such.

[Captain N]

He means that more christian conservatives will jump on the Trump ship because their faith-based education was getting more attention, buzzwords being "faith-based" and such.

Pretty much. Like everything else about Trump the vague wording will leave it up to people's increasingly low intelligence to put together what they think was said.

"Oh they said Faith Based! We're gonna be a Christian Nation again!!"

[Stormspellz]

seeing she is the defacto runner of Michigan schools; charter schools have sky rocketed in the state and continually under perform public schools. On top she's never held public office or worked at a school let school administration.

[NED funded]

While charter schools and voucher-like education makes us more efficient, I worry that we are sacrificing institutions that at least attempt to integrate communities to institutions that while efficient segregate communities.

[Rasulis]

With her history, the US is going to end up with elementary through high school version of DeVry University.

[Wells]

God that confirmation was a train wreck. If the confirmation process had anything to do with the suitability of the candidate she'd never be confirmed.

[Kaleredar]

seeing she is the defacto runner of Michigan schools; charter schools have sky rocketed in the state and continually under perform public schools. On top she's never held public office or worked at a school let school administration.

She's being appointed by a man that's never held public office let alone been anywhere near congress. Does it come as that much of a suprirse?


This sounds like Trump throwing another taxpayer-paid bone to... you guessed it, private business. In this case, private schools.

Meanwhile, people like the OP are so swooned by the fact that they're "taking a shot at SJWs" or other completely imagined garbage conflicts that they're ignoring that aspect. This sentiment:

Pretty much. Like everything else about Trump the vague wording will leave it up to people's increasingly low intelligence to put together what they think was said. "Oh they said Faith Based! We're gonna be a Christian Nation again!!"

hits it pretty square on the head.

[Macaquerie]

Honestly, to this day I still have no idea what the point of faith-based education is, or why exactly churches are any more qualified to operate schools than the local crocheting club. What part of the Bible has ANY relevant information toward any academic subject?

[belleflop]

How does one learn how to think critically in a faith based education? That's a serious question.

I found all of her answers today to be sub par and way off the mark. Sadly the democrats have no way to stop any of these nominees sans a scandal or legal dirt. I wasn't to stoked about Tillerson or Sessions, but at least they seemed to know what they were talking about. The only worse hearing so far was Ben Carson and his whole "I'm not good at this, so I'll hire people that are good at this". Umm.. Trump isn't good at that, so he hires the expert, in this scenario that's suppose to be YOU.. FFS

Suppose the only way to prove these nominees wrong is to let them screw it up on their own. How much harm could they do?

[Wells]

She's going to buy her way into that office though.

[Kaleredar]

Suppose the only way to prove these nominees wrong is to let them screw it up on their own. How much harm could they do?

Does George W Bush ring a bell?


We were almost done digging ourselves out of the pit he dug. I guess some people just felt like hopping back in while Trump tries to sell them golden diving boards.

[Wyrt]

Privatizing school is not a good idea.

[Kronik85]

How does one learn how to think critically in a faith based education? That's a serious question.

I went to a Catholic School. I was taught The Big Bang Theory, Evolution and the 3 branches of Science. The only time we discussed religion was during Religious Education (an actual GCSE course which is taught in all schools in the UK). So like that.

[NYC17]

God that confirmation was a train wreck. If the confirmation process had anything to do with the suitability of the candidate she'd never be confirmed.

Her family contributing 100's of millions of dollars(as per the nominee herself) to Republican's is just a coincidence.