Education
Education

Betsy DeVos joins chief critic on tour of public schools

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and President Donald Trump at a parent-teacher conference listening session at the White House in February. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and President Donald Trump at a parent-teacher conference listening session at the White House in February. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
By Maureen Downey
April 21, 2017

President Donald Trump’s secretary of education has promoted school choice in many of her public statements and in visits to private and charter schools. This week, however, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos toured traditional public schools, which she has contended are failing their students.

DeVos was in rural Ohio at the invitation of one of her chief critics, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten. As leader of the nation’s largest teacher union, Weingarten has accused DeVos of seeking to privatize public education and criticized her past advocacy of vouchers and for-profit charter schools.

The two spent Thursday visiting public schools in Van Wert, Ohio. To read about the visit, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog.

About the Author

Maureen Downey has written editorials and opinion pieces about local, state and federal education policy since the 1990s.

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