Why I’m Walking Out On Betsy DeVos

Next Monday, January 30th, the day before the Senate HELP committee votes on Betsy DeVos’ confirmation, Students Resisting Trump is walking out to protest the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary.

We encourage all students and young people to walk out with us.

Why?

We demand a Secretary who will fight like hell for all students, and that means:

We demand a Secretary who is a fierce and vocal protector of students in the face of Trump. This means protecting immigrant students, students at risk of losing their healthcare if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, LGBTQ students, victims of sexual assault, Muslims, Black students, and inner-city students. DeVos isn’t on record protecting any of those groups.

We demand a Secretary who will increase true school choice: meaning she will increase our choice of multiple public school options that will truly prepare us for college. Unlike previous Secretaries, DeVos’ track record of school choice advocacy has not transformed college access for low-income students. We don’t want free market ideology — we want schools that will get us to college, and that requires high standards and accountability for school choice programs.

We demand a Secretary who will protect our civil rights in schools. This means not cutting funding to the Office of Civil Rights, protecting the rights of sexual assault survivors by enforcing Title IX, and more broadly embrace the federal responsibility to ensure students with disabilities are not discriminated against.

We demand a Secretary who will leverage the Federal investment in education to ensure all students are learning. The Department of Education has played a crucial role in ensuring that states can’t conceal bigotry, racism, and neglect in their public education systems. Devolving everything to the states will harm our communities.

Until or unless DeVos champions all of our demands, we’ll be calling to #TossDeVos.

This is our education system and we deserve high functioning schools. The fate of the country depends on it. We must speak out and demand to have accountable schools for ourselves and our sibling and neighbors.

Join us!

By Alexis Morin, Co-Founder and Executive Director of SFER Action Network & Students Resisting Trump