Education / Schools, Justice

This Betsy DeVos Thing Seems Close

Poor education is how we got into this mess, and that's not going to change any time soon.

By  
on
Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump's pick to be the next Secretary of Education. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Betsy DeVos, President Donald Trump’s pick to be the next Secretary of Education. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

It could be that discrimination applied to our children is one step too far for lawmakers who are content to allow President Trump discriminate against everybody else. That’s the only reason I can think of for Betsy DeVos’s confirmation process to be more fraught than the others.

Is she unqualified? Sure. But so are most of Trump’s cabinet picks. Does she seem to hate the department she’s been nominated to lead? Yes, but that’s a feature, not a bug, in TrumpWorld.

But when I look at this opposition letter form the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights — a letter that was sent to the Senate today that 247 other organizations have joined — this part that was bolded in the original did indeed stand out:

Betsy DeVos’ deference to state flexibility, even with regard to compliance with federal civil rights laws such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); her claim that demonstrating support for Title IX enforcement guidance would be “premature;” and her lack of support for accountability for all schools receiving federal funds only serve to reinforce our conclusionthat her inadequate previous experience and missing record of support for students’ civil rights make her unfit to serve as Secretary of Education.

The Washington Post reports that 300 state lawmakers have joined in a “last-minute push” to block DeVos, who should be voted on this evening. And unlike some other Trump nominees, she does have the singular moment of idiocy that might give some moderate Republicans cover with their base (the grizzly bear thing).

So, I don’t know, maybe the forces of common sense block this one.

Sponsored

But even if they do, Trump will find somebody else to say Title IX is the devil. He’ll find somebody else to drain funding for public schools. Poor education is how we got into this mess, and that’s not going to change any time soon.

Progressives launch last-minute push against Betsy DeVos, and conservatives counter with online ad campaign [Washington Post]

Elie Mystal is an editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

Sponsored

Topics

, , ,