SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Thousands of teachers, students, and parents protested against Betsy DeVos in Washington, D.C., on Sunday. (Photo: Alt Dept of ED/Twitter)
Hundreds of State Legislators and Civil Rights Groups Urge Senate to Reject DeVos
'Ms. DeVos has used her vast wealth to influence state legislation and the outcomes of elections to advance policies that have undermined public education and proved harmful to many of our most vulnerable students'
Jan 30, 2017
The U.S. Senate on Monday received two last-minute salvos from prominent progressive voices against Betsy DeVos's nomination for education secretary.
An open letter signed by state lawmakers from all 50 states and another signed by over 200 civil rights groups nationwide together strongly condemn DeVos's pro-privatization record and lack of experience, and urge senators to vote against the billionaire heiress.
"Ms. DeVos has used her vast wealth to influence state legislation and the outcomes of elections to advance policies that have undermined public education and proved harmful to many of our most vulnerable students; meanwhile, she lacks any direct experience with education, instruction, and school system and program administration," argues the letter from over 300 state lawmakers.
The letter from 247 civil rights groups further adds:
The Secretary of Education's role as an enforcer of education and civil rights laws is central to advancing our shared vision of an inclusive and diverse system of high-quality public education that enables every student to live up to their potential. DeVos has demonstrated no previous commitment to ensuring equal educational opportunity in schools. Moreover, in her hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on January 17, 2017, she failed to demonstrate that she is capable of and committed to enforcing the law--as is required of the agency's chief executive.
The letters arrived just under the wire, as the the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will vote on DeVos's nomination Tuesday morning. (A full senate vote will occur in several weeks.)
The letters also came after thousands of teachers, students, and parents united for a protest Sunday on Capitol Hill, in addition to smaller actions around the country (including DeVos's Michigan hometown), and demanded that senators #DumpDeVos:
\u201cAre you listening @SenAlexander @lisamurkowski @SenToomey @DeanHeller @senatorcollins? #DumpDevos\u201d— Alt Dept of ED (@Alt Dept of ED) 1485708748
\u201cWe beary much agree! #DumpDevos\u201d— Alt Dept of ED (@Alt Dept of ED) 1485712953
\u201cICYMI: Thousands of teachers rally for students and to #DumpDevos #resist\u201d— NEA (@NEA) 1485780508
Meanwhile, right-wing groups are battling for DeVos's confirmation, the Washington Post reports, with a Republican super PAC launching a pro-DeVos ad campaign Monday.
It remains to be seen whether DeVos will be confirmed: while Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has said that no Democrats will vote for the billionaire, as Common Dreams reported, the Post observes that a Republican would have to break ranks to stop her confirmation--and thus far, no Republican senators have voiced any opposition to DeVos.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
The U.S. Senate on Monday received two last-minute salvos from prominent progressive voices against Betsy DeVos's nomination for education secretary.
An open letter signed by state lawmakers from all 50 states and another signed by over 200 civil rights groups nationwide together strongly condemn DeVos's pro-privatization record and lack of experience, and urge senators to vote against the billionaire heiress.
"Ms. DeVos has used her vast wealth to influence state legislation and the outcomes of elections to advance policies that have undermined public education and proved harmful to many of our most vulnerable students; meanwhile, she lacks any direct experience with education, instruction, and school system and program administration," argues the letter from over 300 state lawmakers.
The letter from 247 civil rights groups further adds:
The Secretary of Education's role as an enforcer of education and civil rights laws is central to advancing our shared vision of an inclusive and diverse system of high-quality public education that enables every student to live up to their potential. DeVos has demonstrated no previous commitment to ensuring equal educational opportunity in schools. Moreover, in her hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on January 17, 2017, she failed to demonstrate that she is capable of and committed to enforcing the law--as is required of the agency's chief executive.
The letters arrived just under the wire, as the the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will vote on DeVos's nomination Tuesday morning. (A full senate vote will occur in several weeks.)
The letters also came after thousands of teachers, students, and parents united for a protest Sunday on Capitol Hill, in addition to smaller actions around the country (including DeVos's Michigan hometown), and demanded that senators #DumpDeVos:
\u201cAre you listening @SenAlexander @lisamurkowski @SenToomey @DeanHeller @senatorcollins? #DumpDevos\u201d— Alt Dept of ED (@Alt Dept of ED) 1485708748
\u201cWe beary much agree! #DumpDevos\u201d— Alt Dept of ED (@Alt Dept of ED) 1485712953
\u201cICYMI: Thousands of teachers rally for students and to #DumpDevos #resist\u201d— NEA (@NEA) 1485780508
Meanwhile, right-wing groups are battling for DeVos's confirmation, the Washington Post reports, with a Republican super PAC launching a pro-DeVos ad campaign Monday.
It remains to be seen whether DeVos will be confirmed: while Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has said that no Democrats will vote for the billionaire, as Common Dreams reported, the Post observes that a Republican would have to break ranks to stop her confirmation--and thus far, no Republican senators have voiced any opposition to DeVos.
The U.S. Senate on Monday received two last-minute salvos from prominent progressive voices against Betsy DeVos's nomination for education secretary.
An open letter signed by state lawmakers from all 50 states and another signed by over 200 civil rights groups nationwide together strongly condemn DeVos's pro-privatization record and lack of experience, and urge senators to vote against the billionaire heiress.
"Ms. DeVos has used her vast wealth to influence state legislation and the outcomes of elections to advance policies that have undermined public education and proved harmful to many of our most vulnerable students; meanwhile, she lacks any direct experience with education, instruction, and school system and program administration," argues the letter from over 300 state lawmakers.
The letter from 247 civil rights groups further adds:
The Secretary of Education's role as an enforcer of education and civil rights laws is central to advancing our shared vision of an inclusive and diverse system of high-quality public education that enables every student to live up to their potential. DeVos has demonstrated no previous commitment to ensuring equal educational opportunity in schools. Moreover, in her hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on January 17, 2017, she failed to demonstrate that she is capable of and committed to enforcing the law--as is required of the agency's chief executive.
The letters arrived just under the wire, as the the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will vote on DeVos's nomination Tuesday morning. (A full senate vote will occur in several weeks.)
The letters also came after thousands of teachers, students, and parents united for a protest Sunday on Capitol Hill, in addition to smaller actions around the country (including DeVos's Michigan hometown), and demanded that senators #DumpDeVos:
\u201cAre you listening @SenAlexander @lisamurkowski @SenToomey @DeanHeller @senatorcollins? #DumpDevos\u201d— Alt Dept of ED (@Alt Dept of ED) 1485708748
\u201cWe beary much agree! #DumpDevos\u201d— Alt Dept of ED (@Alt Dept of ED) 1485712953
\u201cICYMI: Thousands of teachers rally for students and to #DumpDevos #resist\u201d— NEA (@NEA) 1485780508
Meanwhile, right-wing groups are battling for DeVos's confirmation, the Washington Post reports, with a Republican super PAC launching a pro-DeVos ad campaign Monday.
It remains to be seen whether DeVos will be confirmed: while Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) has said that no Democrats will vote for the billionaire, as Common Dreams reported, the Post observes that a Republican would have to break ranks to stop her confirmation--and thus far, no Republican senators have voiced any opposition to DeVos.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.