As we welcome the new Biden-Harris administration, we’re excited about several positive developments: a comprehensive plan to address the COVID-19 pandemic, the election of the first Black, South Asian, and female Vice President, and a president with a commendable history of supporting labor unions. One major relief is the departure of Betsy DeVos, widely considered one of the least effective Secretaries of Education in U.S. history. Educators across the country are breathing a sigh of relief.
From the outset, DeVos’s record was troubling. She lacked any experience in public education as a teacher, administrator, or staffer, according to the National Education Association. Her own children never attended public schools, and she funneled millions into advocating for school privatization. Her support for pro-voucher candidates and involvement in Detroit’s charter school system were criticized for undermining public education while draining essential resources.
DeVos’s tenure has been labeled as “one of the biggest school reform disasters in the country.” The very appointment of DeVos signaled a commitment to dismantling public education as we know it.
DeVos Undermined Protections for Transgender Students
Under the Obama Administration, transgender students were afforded protections under Title IX, allowing them to use the restroom that aligned with their gender identity. Unfortunately, DeVos reversed these protections. Furthermore, her Department of Education threatened to withhold federal funding from Connecticut school districts that permitted transgender students to participate on sports teams that matched their gender identity. This was framed as a violation of Title IX.
Additionally, DeVos pressured Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire to change its definition of a “female athlete” after a lawsuit involving a trans woman who won an NCAA event, despite her historic achievement as the first transgender athlete to do so. The university ultimately capitulated to DeVos’s threats.
DeVos Eroded Protections for Disabled Students
Parents of children with special needs are familiar with IDEA: the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which ensures the right to public education for all children with disabilities. DeVos either misunderstood or disregarded this federal law, claiming it was “better left to states.” Her push for privatizing education often came at the expense of disabled students’ rights, as some states utilized special education vouchers that compromised these students’ access to a quality education.
In one troubling instance, a school in Florida’s voucher program offered a “business management” class where children were shaking cans for money, while corporal punishment was routinely applied.
Dismissal of Civil Rights Investigations
DeVos’s approach to civil rights claims was alarmingly dismissive. The Office for Civil Rights under her leadership made it a pattern to ignore claims that pointed to systemic issues within school systems. For instance, a study revealed that Black students in DeSoto, Mississippi faced harsher disciplinary actions than their white peers for similar offenses. Despite inheriting ongoing investigations from the Obama era, DeVos’s administration quickly closed them, finding no wrongdoing in cases where obvious violations occurred.
Racist Justifications for Policy Changes
In 2014, President Obama mandated schools to employ restorative justice practices to reduce racial disparities in discipline. However, DeVos rolled back these policies, prioritizing school safety post-Parkland shooting. In doing so, she relied on a racially biased study that attributed discipline disparities to “prior problem behavior” of Black children, rather than recognizing the role of institutional racism and bias.
Support for For-Profit Colleges
DeVos eliminated an Obama-era rule requiring for-profit colleges to disclose debt-to-earning ratios, allowing them to continue receiving federal funds even if their graduates struggled financially. This decision cost taxpayers over $5 billion and left countless students burdened with unmanageable debt. Additionally, DeVos appointed individuals from the for-profit sector to oversee accountability investigations, raising concerns about conflicts of interest.
What We Need from the Biden-Harris Administration
Now, more than ever, we need a thorough overhaul of the Education Department that was left in disarray by DeVos. As you’ve pledged to safeguard vulnerable populations in your pandemic strategy, we urge you to extend these protections to education. It is essential to provide special safeguards for students who need it most—particularly students of color, transgender students, and those facing various inequalities related to education quality.
We need to address and eliminate racial disparities in school discipline that were exacerbated during DeVos’s time in office. Let’s reinstate restorative justice practices in place of punitive measures like suspensions and legal threats. The use of corporal punishment in schools must also be abolished; no child should endure such treatment in any educational setting.
Furthermore, it’s crucial to uphold the rights of disabled students and equip teachers with the resources necessary to support them effectively. This includes more aides and increased access to ensure a fair and fulfilling educational experience in the least restrictive environments.
When it comes to for-profit colleges, we urge you to forgive student loans and enforce strict regulations on underperforming programs. This is especially important for those of us facing overwhelming student debt.
We recognize that these are ambitious requests, demanding the undoing of four years of mismanagement. However, we elected you and Vice President Harris to tackle these challenges. We trust in your commitment to education, bolstered by the experience of your wife, Jill, a community college English teacher.
Let’s make this happen.
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