Betsy DeVos’s Summer Of Sabotage
We know what you did this summer
We kicked off summer 2017 with the one-two punch of #ComeyDay and the revelation of Don Jr.’s secret meeting with Russian operatives in June 2016. We ended this summer on the sobering note of Charlottesville and the devastation of Hurricane Harvey through Texas and Louisiana. The events of the past three months have made it difficult to keep up with the onslaught of Trump bombshells.
While this summer has seen a shake up of Trump’s staff, one woman in particular remains: Betsy DeVos. While the education secretary has kept a relatively low profile these past few months, her proposed policies, budget cuts, and positions on controversial issues prove there has never been more at stake for America’s students — both present and future.
June 2
Questionable Appointments
DeVos started June by appointing her staff, surprising many with some choice hires. Joining her staff were Candice E. Jackson as assistant secretary for civil rights, and Jim Blew who now leads the office of planning, evaluation, and policy analysis.
Jackson, a lawyer, attacked Hillary Clinton during the campaign for not defending sexual assault survivors. Though herself a sexual assault survivor, she felt it appropriate to call the women with allegations against President Trump, “fake victims” and later made the following statement:
“Rather, the accusations — 90 percent of them — fall into the category of ‘we were both drunk,’ ‘we broke up, and six months later I found myself under a Title IX investigation because she decided that our last sleeping together was not quite right.’”
Her tenure is guaranteed to inspire controversy on how sensitive issues like campus sexual assault policies are handled on the federal level.
Blew, a titan of the private school choice movement, is not a shocking choice for DeVos. In many ways this appointment is emblematic of the biggest issues many have with DeVos in the first place. Blew spent almost a decade working for the Walton Foundation (Yes, the Walmart Waltons), directing K-12 reform programs. He is strongly against public education, making him an ideal candidate for DeVos’ staff.
June 6
The Hearing
As she testified before Senate Appropriations subcommittee on her proposed 2018 budget, Secretary DeVos was told by the members to prepare for her budget to not be passed. With 13% of the overall Education Department’s budget on the line, DeVos defended her cuts stating:
“If taxpayer money were limitless, we wouldn’t need a budget…A budget reflects the difficult decisions of how best to appropriate the limited taxpayer dollars we have. This budget does so by putting an emphasis on programs that are proven to help students while taking a hard look at those that are well-intended, but haven’t yielded meaningful results.”
DeVos was challenged on her position regarding the use of federal funds to private and charter schools who may discriminate against minority students. In her line of questioning, Patty Murray (D-Wash.), repeatedly asked DeVos about her desire to truly protect students being discriminated against due to their sexual orientation and race. Finally, DeVos said that she agreed that schools which use federal funds must follow federal law.
June 13
A non-committal statement
After a downright embarrassing performance in front of Congress earlier this spring, DeVos attempted to save face during a speech at the National Charter Schools Conference by saying that she would pursue discrimination in all of its forms.
“Every child has a right to a safe and nurturing environment, and we are and will be continuing to pursue allegations of discrimination in any form as well.” the Secretary said.
The secretary’s murky history with answering clearly and effectively on almost any topic makes a definitive statement from her a break in character. Despite this insinuation that she would pursue discrimination, DeVos stayed true to character and continued her trend of double standard ethics throughout the rest of the summer.
June 15
Distancing From DeVos
The Education Department’s “Engaging Father’s and Families” event in celebration of Father’s Day was not without strife.
Though the Secretary did not attend the event, the National Parent Teacher Association withdrew their attendance after it was announced that the Focus on the Family and Family Research Council organizations would be in attendance. The PTA declined stating that they are “not in alignment” with the anti-LGTBI beliefs held by the two groups.
Focus on the Family and the FRC have long been supported by the DeVos family.
June 16
Condoning Discrimination
Per an internal memo released by Candice Jackson, the Department of Education announced that they would be scaling back their pursuit of civil rights investigations.
These investigations include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Identifying systemic issues
- Identifying classes of victims
- Regional offices will no longer be required to contact to alert D.C. officials on issues like disproportionate action against minority students
- Rectifying mishandled cases of sexual assault on college campuses
What we all hoped to be willful ignorance on the part of Secretary DeVos is now a clear commitment to inaction in the face of discrimination.
June 30
Unleashing The Wolves
In a move that would later get her sued by eighteen states and the District of Columbia, Secretary DeVos announced plans to roll back Clinton and Obama enacted education rules which protected students from predatory for-profit colleges.
The Borrower Defense to Repayment and Gainful Employment rules were first introduced and established by the Clinton administration but modified to be made stricter by the Obama administration in October 2016. The Secretary instructed her staff to not enforce the rules set to go into play on July 1, 2017, and instead asked that they appoint a committee to revise the rules in an effort to stop their expansion.
Nineteen attorney generals attached to the lawsuit agree that the case against DeVos is simple: The department violated federal law by axing the rule without due process.
July 1
A reluctant implementation
The implementation of the Obama’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was not without harsh criticism by Secretary DeVos. Through her staff, memos were sent to state education officials in regards to how they would like the legislation rolled out in school districts.
ESSA is meant to thrive where No Child Left Behind failed (and it did spectacularly fail). Having a Secretary in office who is convinced that public education already sets kids up to be left behind all but promises a weak implementation of any act that would truly benefit particularly public school students.
The issue boils down to semantics. Jason Botel, acting assistant secretary for elementary and secondary information, called out the state of Delaware for not being “ambitious” in their pursuit of long-term academic success.
While Secretary DeVos attempted to rally support for her appointment with the promise of a more rigorous education system, intimidating states for not being “ambitious” — a term that means nothing without a firm set of guidelines and policy behind it — is a textbook bullying tactic which certainly won’t make her friends within state education departments.
July 11
Treating Perpetrators Like Victims
In a supposed attempt to get the full story on the impact of Title IX, the Department of Education invited the National Coalition for Men, SAVE, and Families Advocating for Campus Equality to meet with victims of sexual assault. The intention was to talk about a rule enacted to support women who experience sexual misconduct on college campuses, which DeVos has categorized as unfairly penalizing men.
In the wake of this meeting, the Secretary stated in a September 7th press conference that she felt the Obama administration’s position on Title IX rules did not address the “due process rights” of those who had been accused of sexual misconduct on college campuses. The Secretary went on to lambast President Obama’s (and, in turn, Vice President Biden’s) stance, saying that his team “weaponized” the office.
Betsy DeVos wants to protect the accused at the expense of due process and protection for victims. Modifying Title IX in the way Secretary DeVos intends to, will not protect students.
SIGN THIS PETITIONS AND DEMAND BETSY DEVOS NOT ROLL BACK TITLE IX PROTECTIONS
July 26
A Disingenuous Donation
After giving his first quarter salary to the National Park Service, Donald Trump announced he would donate his entire second quarter salary to the Education Department. This $100,000 will fund STEM science camps for girls ages 6–11, and DeVos was quick to express her gratitude to the President.
“I want to start by saying how grateful I am to the President for this generous gift. The president has truly shown his commitment to our nation’s students and to reforming education in America so that every child, no matter their Zip code, has access to a high-quality education.”
This “generous gift” will do little to stem the huge losses DeVos’s Department is poised to experience as a result of Trump’s proposed budget cuts, which slash 13.5%, or 9.2 billion, from the federal education budget.
August 12
Half-baked response
After the events in Charlottesville, Betsy DeVos released an internal email memo expressing condemnation of the “racist bigots.” Her public comments on Charlottesville however were a bit less pointed.
This type of ambiguous comment is in character with the standard DeVos avoidance of confronting the Trump administration. And her failure to present real leadership in the face of challenging circumstances did not go unnoticed.
August 31
Fraud appointee
Not unlike her boss, the Secretary made an appointment under the cover of chaos that was designed to conceal what would have been a wildly unpopular appointee.
Former dean of for-profit DeVry University, Dr. Julian Schmoke Jr., was chosen to head the department’s unit investigating fraud at for-profit schools. DeVry University, a school which has struggled with their own fraud scandal, makes the appointment of Dr. Schmoke a ludicrous choice.
Earlier this week, the Secretary announced plans to end the Education Department’s agreement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to watchdog student loan fraud.
“The CFPB is using the Department’s data to expand its jurisdiction into areas that Congress never envisioned,” said Kathleen Smith, acting assistant secretary for post-secondary education.
The CFPB spokesman, David Mayorga, said they had not heard complaints from the Education Department before the decision was made.
With September now upon us, we enter into the craziness of budget season. As we reported back in May, school districts and American students stand to lose quite a lot should all the proposed cuts go through.
With any political capital President Trump had all but gone, his ability to get anything he wants passed is waning. DeVos remains unpopular and her proposed programs are not held in favor even by some conservatives.
With the August session break behind them, it is now up to a Republican Congress to decide whether the Education Department budget cuts or common sense prevails.
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