DeVos’ support of charters spells disaster for their Democrat backers
The party of diversity should promote policies that embrace inclusion
When U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos put out the department’s 2019 budget, Democrats who support charter schools found themselves in an awkward political situation. DeVos proposed cutting $17.6 million the Department of Education had allocated for the Special Olympics, but she somehow found room in the budget to increase charter school funding by $60 million. DeVos’ proposed cuts signaled that the government doesn’t care about students with disabilities.
Charters earned a reputation for enrolling fewer students with disabilities than traditional schools and are already blamed by many for “siphoning” funds from their district counterparts. DeVos has all but confirmed those suspicions. Charters can’t be a centerpiece issue for Democrats running for public office if the schools’ biggest champion sees fit to make athletes with disabilities the sacrificial lambs of a leaner budget.
Democrats must instead focus on issues that affect all schools, teachers and students, regardless of school type — issues such as teacher diversity.
After the 2018 midterm elections, the 116th Congress looks radically different, with the most women in a single class; the first Muslim women; and the first Native American women. On the other side of the aisle, Republicans, whiter and more male, are looking less and less like America. The party of diversity must promote it in a new era of education reform. Political hopefuls should offer policy solutions to two divergent statistics: The percentage of students of color in public elementary and high schools is increasing, but the proportion CONTINUE READING: DeVos’ support of charter schools spells disaster for Democrat backers
