The U.S. Secretary of Education should know what it means to educate our children – in public schools and schools of higher learning. But the person President Donald Trump has nominated, Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos, has no qualifications for that job and has spent her life and money working to undermine the very foundation of America’s public education system.
DeVos “has never been a teacher or school administrator, served on any board of education, directed any public education or higher education programs, attended a public school or even had her own children attend a public school,” AFSCME said in a letter to members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee, or HELP, which recently held a hearing on her nomination.
AFSCME, which represents thousands of public school employees in settings ranging from K-12 schools to institutions of higher learning, is part of a 38-member coalition (including the American Federation of Teachers) that recently sent a letter to the Senate HELP committee stating that DeVos helped “advance policies that have undermined public education and proved harmful to many of our most vulnerable students.”
Tell Your Senator to Oppose Betsy DeVos' Nomination
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Msg & Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to opt out. No purchase necessary. Expect 4 msgs/mo. Terms and ConditionsBy undermining public education, we mean her support for school vouchers and for-profit charter schools, which divert scarce resources for public school education to privately owned and administered schools. This is the case in DeVos’ home state of Michigan, where approximately 80 percent of the charter schools are run by for-profit companies that take in more than $1 billion taxpayer dollars each year.
If DeVos were being graded on her knowledge, experience, and capacity to lead public education in America, AFSCME would give her an “F.”
The vote for senators to confirm Betsy DeVos is scheduled for Tuesday, January 31, and your senator needs to hear from you. We elected this Congress to be a check and a balance on President Trump, not a rubber stamp to put dangerous and unprepared billionaires in charge of our children’s education.
Use the form above to call your senator today.