Rumors Swirl That DeVos Is Out

edCircuit Breakdown:

• Some say Betsy DeVos is the most hated cabinet member in the Trump administration.
• The Trump administration has provisions in their tax bill that will help DeVos’ school choice agenda, but it has some public education advocates worried.
• DeVos complains that the bureaucracy is even more complicated than she expected, but she has managed to make some significant changes in the higher education market.

edCircuit Analysis:

Rumors are swirling around Washington and around the country that Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, is ready to resign her position in the cabinet. This speculation arises from her comments about the gridlock of bureaucracy that is preventing her from implementing much of her education reform agenda.

Some people aren’t convinced that she will resign. Still, controversy surrounds her, most recently as it was revealed that her husband, Dick DeVos donated to two PACs in Michigan, despite the Secretary’s pledge that she and her husband would suspend their political contributions while she was part of the Trump cabinet.

Many in education were publicly optimistic upon DeVos’s nomination, with one education industry entrepreneur calling for significant changes in policy to prepare students for a more modern reality. Also at that time, Daniel A. Domenech, executive director of AASA, The School Superintendents Association, issued a statement saying, “the AASA welcomes the opportunity to continue to work with Congress and the administration—including recently confirmed Secretary DeVos—to ensure that educational equity and opportunity are the reality for all our nation’s students.”

While DeVos struggles with her limited ability to affect change in the public school system in the U.S, the education market will continue to keep a close eye on her policy decisions. If and when she decides to leave her post, many leaders in the education industry will be ready to speak up with opinions on who her replacement should be.
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Further Reading

1. The Arizona Republic – Letter: Beware of Betsy DeVos? No, she’s great
2. Politico – The Education of Betsy DeVos
3. edCircuit – Dan Domenech: Letter to Mr. Trump