For Immediate Release
November 23, 2016

President-Elect Donald J. Trump Intends to Nominate Betsy DeVos as Secretary of the Department of Education

(New York, NY) – President-elect Donald J. Trump today announced his intent to nominate Betsy DeVos as Secretary of the United States Department of Education. A leader in the national school reform movement for more than two decades, Betsy DeVos is a highly successful education advocate, businesswoman, and philanthropist.

“Betsy DeVos is a brilliant and passionate education advocate,” said President-elect Donald J. Trump. “Under her leadership we will reform the U.S. education system and break the bureaucracy that is holding our children back so that we can deliver world-class education and school choice to all families. I am pleased to nominate Betsy as Secretary of the Department of Education."

“I am honored to accept this responsibility to work with the President-elect on his vision to make American education great again,” said Ms. DeVos. “The status quo in education is not acceptable. Together, we can work to make transformational change that ensures every student in America has the opportunity to fulfill his or her highest potential.”

A native of Michigan, Betsy DeVos has spent decades advocating for school choice reforms and helping underserved children gain access to quality education. Ms. DeVos is chairman of the American Federation for Children whose mission is to “improve our nation’s K-12 education by advancing systemic and sustainable public policy that empowers parents, particularly those in low-income families, to choose the education they determine is best for their children.”

Ms. DeVos is chair of the Windquest Group and has also served on national and local charitable and civic boards, including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, American Enterprise Institute, The Philanthropy Roundtable, Kids Hope USA, and Mars Hill Bible Church.

American Enterprise Institute
November 23, 2016

Statement from AEI President Arthur Brooks on announcement of Elisabeth (Betsy) DeVos for secretary of education

Washington, DC (November 23,2016)-\

“Betsy is a passionate, hands-on advocate for school reform,” said AEI President Arthur Brooks. “She is a true champion for the competition of ideas. She pursues innovative solutions in education by engaging all players, from policymakers to reformers to parents and community leaders. Her strong conviction that education reform has to be a bipartisan issue comes at a pivotal time, when Washington is in urgent need of productive cooperation. I am confident that she can bring people together to ensure that all children — particularly the most vulnerable — have greater opportunities to build their human potential and receive a high-quality education.”

“All of us at AEI are proud to learn of her selection for this post. We look forward to all that she will achieve as education secretary.”

President-elect Donald Trump announced Elisabeth (Betsy) DeVos, chairman of the Windquest Group, the Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation, and the American Federation for Children, as his choice for secretary of education. Her appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. DeVos has been a member of AEI’s Board of Trustees since June 2015.
National Education Association
November 23, 2016

NEA President reacts to Betsy DeVos nomination for Education Secretary

Eskelsen García: Trump nominee supports failed education policies that hurt students

WASHINGTON - November 23, 2016 - The Trump administration announced today its plan to nominate Betsy DeVos, best known for her anti-public education campaigns, for the position of Secretary of Education.

The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Lily Eskelsen García:

“Every day, educators use their voice to advocate for every student to reach his or her full potential. We believe that the chance for the success of a child should not depend on winning a charter lottery, being accepted by a private school, or living in the right ZIP code. We have, and will continue, to fight for all students to have a great public school in their community and the opportunity to succeed no matter their backgrounds or circumstances.

“Betsy DeVos has consistently worked against these values, and her efforts over the years have done more to undermine public education than support students. She has lobbied for failed schemes, like vouchers — which take away funding and local control from our public schools — to fund private schools at taxpayers’ expense. These schemes do nothing to help our most-vulnerable students while they ignore or exacerbate glaring opportunity gaps. She has consistently pushed a corporate agenda to privatize, de-professionalize and impose cookie-cutter solutions to public education. By nominating Betsy DeVos, the Trump administration has demonstrated just how out of touch it is with what works best for students, parents, educators and communities.

“The National Education Association advocates for investing in smart strategies that we know help to improve the success of all our students, including creating more opportunities and equity for students, classes small enough for one-on-one attention, modern textbooks and a well-rounded curriculum for every student. We also know that the voices of educators — those who know the names of the students they educate — should always be present at the table when making decisions that impact student success. Educators will continue to focus on raising their voices in support of their students and against any effort by the Trump administration to undermine the educational opportunity of all public school students.”

Follow on twitter at @NEAmedia and @Lily_NEA

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American Federation of Teachers
November 23, 2016

AFT President Randi Weingarten on Nomination of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education

WASHINGTON—In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination of Betsy DeVos to lead the Department of Education, AFT President Randi Weingarten issued the following statement:

“The president-elect, in his selection of Betsy DeVos, has chosen the most ideological, anti-public education nominee put forward since President Carter created a Cabinet-level Department of Education.

“In nominating DeVos, Trump makes it loud and clear that his education policy will focus on privatizing, defunding and destroying public education in America.

“DeVos has no meaningful experience in the classroom or in our schools. The sum total of her involvement has been spending her family’s wealth in an effort to dismantle public education in Michigan. Every American should be concerned that she would impose her reckless and extreme ideology on the nation.

“We have an obligation to all children in America. That’s why we’ve fought to ensure that struggling schools get fixed, that we fight for kids to have the powerful learning, the social and emotional and wraparound services, and the great teachers they need. That’s why we fight for parents to have the voice they need and communities throughout the country to have the local decision-making for their schools and the investment they need, so we do everything we can to help all children have a great public education. What this pick means is far from ensuring that every child has the option of a great public education—the many who have it now will lose it. That’s been the experience of 25 years of privatizing: It helps very few, and many students now go to schools that have faced years of austerity and disinvestment.

“Betsy DeVos is everything Donald Trump said is wrong in America—an ultra-wealthy heiress who uses her money to game the system and push a special-interest agenda that is opposed by the majority of voters. Installing her in the Department of Education is the opposite of Trump’s promise to drain the swamp.” 

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The AFT represents 1.6 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.
People for the American Way
November 23, 2016

PFAW Statement on Trump’s Selection of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education

In response to reports that President-elect Donald Trump has selected Betsy DeVos as his nominee to become secretary of education, People For the American Way Executive Vice President Marge Baker released the following statement:

“Betsy DeVos has a long record attacking public education. If confirmed, DeVos would use her position in government to expand and intensify her efforts to undermine public schools. This nomination is bad for our schools, bad for our students and bad for our country.

“We’ve seen time and again that schemes to privatize our public education system aren’t about improving educational outcomes: they’re about pushing right-wing ideology and feeding corporate profits. We have to stand up for our public schools and oppose those who seek to undermine them.”

Earlier this year, People For the American Way’s Right Wing Watch wrote about the DeVos family’s extensive funding of anti-public education work.

People For the American Way is a progressive advocacy organization founded to fight right-wing extremism and defend constitutional values including free expression, religious liberty, equal justice under the law, and the right to meaningfully participate in our democracy.
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