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Betsy DeVos' Vision For American Education

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, left, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 24, 2017.
(Carolyn Kaster/AP)
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, left, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

With guest host Jane Clayson.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos suspends the crackdown on for-profit college abuses. What else is she up to?

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is putting pen to paper. She wants to roll back protections for students caught up in for-profit school fraud and unfulfilled gainful employment promises. Scaled back protections of gay and transgender students. And like her boss, President Trump, wants deep cuts – as in billions of dollars to public school programs, in favor of school choice. This hour On Point: Betsy DeVos’ lesson plan for America’s schools.

Guests

Molly Hensley-Clancy, business reporter for Buzzfeed News, where she covers the intersection of business and education. ( @mollyhc)

Carmel Martin, executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress, where her expertise includes domestic policy, education and higher education. Former assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy development at the U.S. Department of Education. ( @CarmelMMartin)

Max Eden, senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where his expertise is in early education, school choice, and federal education policy. ( @maxeden99)

From The Reading List

BuzzFeed News: Betsy DeVos Is Halting Protections For For-Profit College Students — “In federal filings, the Education Department said it would renegotiate the federal ‘gainful employment’ rule, which stops government money from flowing to for-profit colleges whose students take on too much debt, but earn little after they graduate. Years in the making — it went into effect in 2015 after surviving two lengthy court battles with the for-profit college industry — the regulation is arguably the most significant piece of President Obama’s higher education legacy.”

New York Times: To Understand Betsy DeVos’s Educational Views, View Her Education — “Public neighborhood schools — the vast majority of schools in this country — were hardly present in the billionaire’s childhood or adult life. Critics say this lopsided exposure fueled Ms. DeVos’s staunch support of privately run, publicly funded charter schools and voucher programs that allow families to take tax dollars from the public education system to private schools.”

The Federalist: Why DeVos Should Rescind Obama’s Ban On Disciplining Minority Kids In School — “Last week, after nearly 100 days in office, President Trump issued an executive order declaring that ‘it shall be the policy of the executive branch to protect and preserve State and local control in education.’ The order gives Education Secretary Betsy DeVos 300 days to itemize regulations and guidance where the federal government overstepped its bounds. But DeVos would need little more than a minute to rescind perhaps the single most destructive action taken by the Obama Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights: federal ‘guidance’ on school discipline.”

 

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