On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is expected to hold a confirmation hearing on the nomination of Betsy DeVos as secretary of education. A lot has been written about her position on vouchers and school choice. But DeVos has not granted any public or press interviews since President-elect Donald Trump announced her nomination.
EdSource asked a cross-section of education experts, teachers, students and administrators what three questions they would ask DeVos, given the focus of their work and policy interests, if they had the opportunity – and why it’s important that the public hear those answers. The questions they submitted were thoughtful – and thought-provoking – and covered a range of important issues. They include whether DeVos is committed to Title I funding for low-income children, how she would respond to the fears of gay and immigrant students under a Trump presidency, how she would improve the academic achievement of minority children who are struggling and how she would carry out her goal of expanding vouchers and charter schools. Among other questions, they want her to explain how she would act on her opposition to the Common Core standards, to explain her approach to addressing college students’ debts and whether she would press for more federal funding for early childhood education.
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