Pete Buttigieg on DeVos, Charter Schools, and the Federal Role in Education
It's unusual for criticisms of a cabinet official to play a role in a presidential primary. And it's even more unusual for a candidate to fundraise using ads attacking the U.S. Secretary of Education. But that's just what South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg has done as he's sought to distinguish himself from a crowded Democratic presidential primary field.
In a series of social media ads, Buttigieg says U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has "turned her back on lower-income and middle class Americans" by slow-walking of Obama-era regulations designed to protect students from predatory lenders and for-profit colleges. [DeVos has sought to target the program to a narrower slice of defrauded students, saying some debt relief could amount to "free money."]
In a phone interview from Los Angeles on Wednesday, Buttigieg spoke with Education Week about DeVos, the federal role in education, teacher pay, and his views on charter schools, which have been an unusually prominent topic in the primary.
To be sure, Buttigieg is not the only candidate who has criticized DeVos, a popular target for Democratic candidates courting teachers' unions for an endorsement. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has a whole section on her Senate webpage called "DeVos watch," and has CONTINUE READING: Pete Buttigieg on DeVos, Charter Schools, and the Federal Role in Education - Politics K-12 - Education Week
