DeVos: Critics want to ‘make my life a living hell’
In her first full week as U.S. education secretary, Betsy DeVos wasted no time in getting to work to try to explain her vision for education and the U.S. Education Department — and to go after her critics, saying they want to make her life “a living hell.” She also said she has identified people in the department who want her to fail, but vowed not to let them.
Her nomination by President Trump sparked an unprecedented backlash, and she was confirmed on Feb. 7 in the Senate only after Vice President Pence cast the first-ever vote to break a tie for a Cabinet nominee. Her backers see her as a champion of school choice and alternatives to traditional public schools, while opponents say her decades of advocacy work show that she wants to privatize the public education system.
She was met with protests at the first D.C. public school she visited as education secretary, and the San Diego Board of Education decided not to vote on a resolution to invite her to visit the city’s public schools.
In a speech and several interviews, DeVos made clear that she is planning to push the expansion of school choice — charter schools, voucher programs and other alternatives to traditional public schools.
In an interview with Axios, excerpts of which were published on Feb. 17, she said:
“I expect there will be more public charter schools. I expect there will be more private schools. I expect there will be more virtual schools. I expect there will beDeVos: Critics want to ‘make my life a living hell’ - The Washington Post:
