Betsy DeVos is 'peripherally aware' that people don't like her
What exactly would a federal school voucher program look like, and would it fund schools that discriminate against students based on their gender, religion, race or sexual orientation?
That question was a major flash point — once again — on Tuesday as senators in an appropriations subcommittee questioned U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) asked DeVos if any voucher program would follow anti-discrimination laws.
DeVos repeated, at least six times over the course of the hearing, that any school accepting federal money would have to follow federal law.
But some senators were dissatisfied with this answer.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) had a heated back-and-forth with DeVos over the question. "Where law is unsettled, this department will not be issuing decrees," DeVos said. When she gave the answer she kept repeating again, Merkley said he wanted the public to know that DeVos refuses to affirm that she would prevent discrimination. DeVos said that was not true: "I don't support discrimination."
Exactly how nondiscrimination law would apply to which programs is unclear though. Some parts of the law are murky. Discrimination by race, color or national origin is not allowed in any private school under Title IX. But there is no federal law explicitly protecting LGBTQ students from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. And protections for students with disabilities haven't been fully defined by laws or the courts.
DeVos insisted several times that there is no federal voucher program. But here's what we know about what could be in the works:
- President Trump and DeVos have hinted that they would favor a tax-credit program that would give businesses that donate to nonprofit scholarship organizations tax breaks — with the scholarships produced allowing for students attend private or parochial schools.
- It would be up to Congress to create such a tax-credit program. Such a program would not necessarily be subject to nondiscrimination laws because the dollars would flow from companies to nonprofits to schools.
- Trump's budget proposed using $250 million to encourage states to boost "private school choice."
It was unclear which specific laws the senators who pushed back on DeVos' refrain were asking about. The federal government, however, can attach conditions to the money it gives out in programs such as the proposed Betsy DeVos is 'peripherally aware' that people don't like her - LA Times:
