Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Resigns

U.S. Department of Education (ED) Secretary Betsy DeVos has resigned from the position two weeks before Joe Biden’s inauguration. She blames President Donald Trump for the recent riots in the nation’s capital.

Here are some of her accomplishments over the last four years and her views on related matters:

— ED issued a final rule to protect free inquiry and religious freedom on college campuses. Secretary DeVos published the Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities rule, which clarifies how a school may demonstrate that it’s controlled by a religious organization to qualify for exemptions under Title IX, ensures equal treatment for religious student organizations, and more narrowly tailors the prohibition on the use of grants to religious instruction, worship, or proselytizing.

— Secretary DeVos announced a change to the way Title IX is to be applied to protect the victims of sexual assault on college campuses and restore due process to the accused — a change Biden doesn’t like. He said he’d reverse the new regulations if he became president.

— A supporter of school choice, Secretary DeVos said the NAACP was mistaken and “not really acting or speaking in the best interests of those they profess to represent” by opposing school choice, which would benefit black children in low-income families stuck in bad government schools.

— After some students booed and turned their backs while she spoke at the graduation ceremony of a historically black college, Secretary DeVos said on Twitter that she has “respect for all those who attended @bethunecookman, including those who demonstrated their disagreement with me today. While we may share differing points of view, my visit and dialogue with students leaves me encouraged and committed to supporting HBCUs.”

— In a video released by Hypeline News, a reporter asked college students what they thought about Secretary DeVos. Most said they didn’t think she was qualified and couldn’t come up with anything they liked about her.

The reporter asked whether they believed a child’s zip code should determine his future (no) and whether they’d support school vouchers for such children (yes).

Then the reporter told the students that Secretary DeVos has set up foundations to advocate for school choice for low-income children. Watch the video below to hear their reactions:

A school-choice advocate, someone who is committed to action instead of words, was exactly the right person for President Trump to appoint to speak for children and parents who want better educational options.

Photo credit: By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Betsy DeVos, CC BY-SA 2.0