DeVos pushes for school vouchers, but would Georgia students benefit?

President Donald Trump thanks fourth-graders Janayah Chatelier and Landon Fritz for the homemade greeting cards they presented during his visit to St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, Fla., Friday, March 3, 2017. With the president, from left to right, are: Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner; U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, and Trump daughter Ivanka Trump. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

By Maureen Downey

March 7, 2017

A month into the job, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos continues to push the school choice agenda to which she has long devoted her time and fortune.

Last week, she attempted to portray Historically Black Colleges and Universities as examples of school choice rather than of segregation and racism.

In her latest endorsement of more choice in federal education policy, DeVos held up the virtues of Catholic education, issuing this statement Friday after visiting St. Andrew Catholic School in Orlando, Fla., with President Donald Trump.

“I am proud to join President Trump in his efforts to empower all of America’s school children – including students from low-income families who are often trapped in underperforming schools – with educational opportunity. We have an obligation to put parents in charge and provide every child with the chance to reach their full potential,” she said.

But a new analysis from the Center for American Progress finds vouchers unlikely to work in 85 percent of the more than 13,000 school districts in the United States, including many in Georgia.

To find out more about the study, go to the AJC Get Schooled blog

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