Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Takes the Helm


The United States Senate voted to confirm Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education on February 7, 2017. Two of the Senate’s 52 Republicans, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, joined all 48 Democrats to vote against DeVos and create a 50–50 tie, broken by Vice President Mike Pence. The Washington Post (2/7/2017) noted that, “It marked the first time that a vice president’s tiebreaker was needed to confirm a Cabinet secretary.”


So, who is Betsy DeVos and what does her appointment as Education Secretary mean for the future?


Cabinet members serve the president who chooses them. During his campaign, President Donald Trump made a bold promise to promote school choice. He pledged to “immediately add an additional federal investment of $20 billion towards school choice” by “reprioritizing existing federal dollars.” In addition, he wants to “give states the option to allow these funds to follow the student to the public or private school they attend. Distribution of this grant will favor states that have private school choice, magnet schools, and charter laws, encouraging them to participate.”


With such goals in mind, Trump chose a well-known school choice activist to serve as his Education Secretary. Betsy DeVos is a product of Christian education, a graduate of Holland (Michigan) Christian High School and of Calvin College. She has spent decades as a political activist and philanthropist; her activism in recent years focused on education choice. In 2010, she and her husband established a charter high school focused on aviation. DeVos served as chairman of the American Federation for Children (AFC), a leading school choice advocacy group, from 2009 until her nomination. In its press release celebrating DeVos’s confirmation, AFC pointed out:


DeVos has been an advocate for children for nearly 30 years. She has been instrumental in expanding school choice programs nationwide, which has given students with disabilities and those from low-income families the opportunity to attend the quality school of their parents’ choice. DeVos and her husband, Dick, also founded a high- quality, innovative charter school in western Michigan, which ranks as one of the highest-performing charter schools in the state.


The controversy over DeVos’s appointment to head the Education Department suggests just how bold a choice she was. Political opponents seemed to sense that DeVos could well bring substantial, creative change. The confirmation battle is just a hint of how tough it will be to pass school choice policies, but the Secretary’s long experience fighting those battles will stand her in good stead.


School choice puts parents and children first. In touting her success leading AFC, DeVos’s online biography says


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“over one million children are now in the school of their parents’ choice, instead of being trapped by their zip code in a school that failed to meet their needs.” It is not about advancing party or politics, but giving children and families options—including that of a Christian education.


At the same time, DeVos promised support for public education. According to the CAPE Outlook (February 2017), at her January confirmation hearing DeVos noted that the “vast majority of students in this country will continue to attend public schools,” and pledged to be “a strong advocate for great public schools.” She also noted that “we should support a parent’s right to enroll their child in a high-quality alternative” when necessary. DeVos also said she’s eager “to bring educational opportunity to every family in this great nation.”


The morning after her confirmation, Secretary DeVos summed up her mission in her first speech at an all-staff meeting at the Department of Education:


I’m reminded of the ancient counsel to act justly, to love kindness, and to proceed humbly. No matter your outlook, I’m betting we can all agree that acting justly, being compassionate, and moving forward humbly on behalf of the future of our nation—America’s students—is a good place to start.


So I ask every educator, every parent, everyone involved in educating our nation’s students, and all of us here: Let us set aside any preconceived notions and let’s recognize that while we may have disagreements, we can—and must— come together, find common ground, and put the needs of our students first. And when we do disagree, let us set an example by being sincere and honest, passionate but civil, while never losing sight of our shared mission.


To everyone on this team, my challenge to you is simple: Be bold, think big, and act to serve students.


And I will promise you this: Together, we will find new ways in which we can positively transform education.


There is no “perfect politician,” and Betsy DeVos will doubtless do things that give the Christian school community reason to rejoice or to be concerned in the next four years. But, taken together, the new Education Secretary can be expected to be the strong school choice advocate she has always been. Christian schools need to stand ready to minister to the children whose families may choose them if and when the new administration’s school choice efforts bear fruit.


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