Education
Education

Trump’s nominee for education secretary wants more school choice

Education secretary-designate Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Education secretary-designate Betsy DeVos testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, at her confirmation hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
By Maureen Downey
Jan 18, 2017

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.

About the Author

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

Follow Maureen Downey on facebookFollow Maureen Downey on twitter
More Stories

Keep Reading

People hold candles and sing during a memorial and prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington. (Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP)

Credit: AP

Georgia teachers on leave for Charlie Kirk social media posts

Cobb school employees join a growing list of people fired or suspended from jobs across the nation for allegedly inflammatory social media posts.

1h ago

Atlanta HBCUs lift shelter-in-place order after threat

Clark Atlanta, Morris Brown, Morehouse and Spelman issued now-lifted shelter-in-place orders Thursday after a threat to CAU.

Perdue vows to protect universities’ ‘civil debate’ in wake of Kirk’s killing

University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue issued a statement on the importance of free speech after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.

The Latest

People hold candles and sing during a memorial and prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, in Washington. (Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP)

Credit: AP

Georgia teachers on leave for Charlie Kirk social media posts

1h ago

Atlanta HBCUs lift shelter-in-place order after threat

Perdue vows to protect universities’ ‘civil debate’ in wake of Kirk’s killing

Featured

In this file photo from October 2024, Atlanta Braves outfielder Jorge Soler and teammates react after losing to the San Diego Padres 5-4 in San Diego. The Braves and Soler, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels, face a lawsuit by a fan injured at a 2021 World Series game at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com

A Braves fan took a ball to the face. The team may be liable, judges say.

The Atlanta Braves and former right fielder Jorge Soler face a lawsuit by a fan hit in the eye with a ball during a World Series game at Truist Park in 2021.

Joro spiders multiply across Georgia, spinning their pesky webs

The invasive species has multiplied rapidly in Atlanta in the last three years, research shows.

Ford settles billion-dollar Georgia lawsuits over fatal wrecks

Ford Motor Co. has settled two Georgia lawsuits that elicited record-setting jury verdicts of $1.7 billion and $2.5 billion, ending more than a decade of litigation.