In a contentious Senate hearing Tuesday, Donald Trump’s nominee for education secretary signaled she would represent a major change in direction for federal policy, a change that may lead more children out of traditional public schools into private and charter schools.

Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos has never attended or worked in a public school and has devoted a lot of her time and family fortune from the Amway business into creating escape routes from traditional public schools. She and her family have bankrolled dozens of school choice candidates and opposed efforts to build more accountability into charter school laws in her home state of Michigan.

DeVos shares Trump’s vision of vouchers as a critical solution to under-performing schools.

To read more about DeVos, to the AJC Get Schooled blog.

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Board members listen during an Atlanta School Board meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday, November 5, 2025. APS held its first vote on school consolidation plans. (Abbey Cutrer / AJC)

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Prosecutor Skandalakis has previously suggested that pursuing criminal charges against President Donald Trump may not be feasible until after he leaves office in 2029. (Craig Hudson/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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