Secretary of Education

Required For Ed Secretary: Integrity

~ Ann Policelli Cronin ~ 2 Comments

In addition to showing incredible lack of knowledge about the basics of K-12 education at her confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos lied about her involvement in the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation that gives million of dollars to anti-gay organizations and to causes of the extreme religious right.

At that confirmation hearing, Betsy DeVos stated that it was “a clerical error” that she was listed as a Vice President of the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation. Carol Burris of the Network for Public Education reports that her statement about a clerical error is not plausible. The 990PF forms of the Foundation from 1998 until the latest filing, which is 2014, list Elizabeth (Betsy) DeVos as Vice President.

According to Michigan law, any foundation, including private foundations, must undergo an independent financial audit during a year that the foundation receives in excess of $500,000 in contributions. In 2012, the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation received nearly $19 million in contributions and was audited.

Information about board officers must be provided for an audit. There is a review of all board members’ names and contact information. If Betsy DeVos’s name had been “inadvertently listed” by error for fourteen years, it would have been discovered in that independent audit. The audited tax returns are posted on the Network for Public Education website.

Betsy DeVos didn’t tell the truth to the Senate committee. The Secretary of Education should have unquestioned integrity.

If Senators vote to confirm Betsy DeVos, it will tell a sad story to America’s children. Unfortunately, it will be only one of several sad stories since the election of Donald Trump.

Clear And Present Danger

~ Ann Policelli Cronin ~ 1 Comment

What I learned from watching three hours of the Senate confirmation hearing for Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education:

1. Betsy DeVos demonstrated a lack of any understanding about student assessment.

2. Betsy DeVos said that permitting guns in schools is a decision that should be left up to individual schools.

3. Betsy DeVos did not commit to preschool for all children.

4. Betsy DeVos said that educating children with special needs and disabilities is up to individual schools and districts, and she did not commit to upholding existing federal mandates regarding the education of special needs children and children with disabilities.

5. Betsy DeVos said that she does not support equal accountability for all schools that receive taxpayer funds. Charter schools, funded with taxes, will not have the same accountability and transparency as traditional public schools.

6. Betsy DeVos said that charter schools, funded with public taxes, do not have to adhere to the same policies as traditional public schools in regard to regulations about student bullying and student suspensions.

7. Betsy DeVos did not commit to the enforcement of existing federal laws addressing waste, fraud, and abuse in for-profit colleges.

8. Betsy DeVos did not commit to the enforcement of existing federal laws which address sexual assault on college campuses.

9. Betsy DeVos will take money from traditional public schools to privatize public education.

10. Betsy DeVos, although questioned directly about the civil rights of LGBT students, gave no statement in direct support of LGBT students.

11. Lamar Alexander, the chair of the committee, did not allow appropriate questioning of Betsy DeVos. He did not honor the requests of his Senate colleagues for more time for additional questions. There is a precedent for that courtesy being extended to Senate colleagues who request additional time for questions. 

What I didn’t learn from what was said at the three hours of testimony but could tell from the obsequiousness of the Republican senators and by the restriction on the questioning of Betsy DeVos by the Republican chair of the committee:

According to Education Week, Betsy DeVos and her family have given nearly $1 million directly to 21 Republican senators over past election cycles. In addition, the analysis found ten senators on the Senate education committee have received donations from a political action committee controlled by the DeVos family, including Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn, the committee chairman.

Where do we go from here?

  1. Recognize that what Bernie Sanders has pointed out about our political system as a whole is true about education in particular as well: We are an oligarchy. Money talks. Money wins. Citizens lose. Children lose. 

      2. That oligarchy in education is not new. It has existed during the past two presidencies with the privatization of public education through the public funding of charter schools, the dominance of the standardized testing industry, and education standards determined by the man with the most money,  but that oligarchy was hidden under the misnomer of “education reform”. No reform happened. All that happened was the very rich gained control of the agenda, and those aspiring-to-be-rich-through-privatizing-a-public-institution became rich. Now the oligarchy is crystal clear. Now the danger to our republic is clear. Now the danger to our kids is right before us. 

         3. Be grateful for the clarity.

         4. Fight like crazy.