Betsy DeVos and Senator Fischer Do Not Support Public Education

When Betsy DeVos’s nomination for Education Secretary came in front of the US Senate, Nebraskans declared that with no experience and a disdain for public education, DeVos did not deserve to be the Secretary of Education. Yet, despite the outcry from Nebraskans who deeply support public education, Fischer voted to confirm DeVos. Fischer told Nebraskans she would vote how Nebraskans wanted her to and yet again Fischer voted to put her Party over the people.

Since DeVos’ confirmation she has done nothing but hurt families and public schools. Below are just a few examples.

The Education Department is reportedly considering not publishing a list of colleges and universities under investigation for mishandling sexual assault claims.

Politico: “TITLE IX LIST GOING OUT OF PRINT? The Education Department may soon stop publishing a weekly list of colleges and universities under investigation for allegedly mishandling sexual violence claims — a list that started with 55 schools when it was first published in 2014 and has since ballooned to nearly 240 as of this week. Candice Jackson, the acting head of the department’s Office for Civil Rights, called it a ‘list of shame’ this week at the National Association of College and University Attorneys conference in Chicago where she said it’s high on the list of things the Trump administration may soon do away with.”

Trump’s budget slashes funding for the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights and does not dedicate any money for a fund supporting anti-bullying initiatives.

Los Angeles Times: “The $9.2 billion in cuts represent a 13.5% drop from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2017 budget of $68.2 billion. It includes a $2-million cut to the Office for Civil Rights, the group responsible for enforcing civil rights law in the nation’s schools.”

USA Today: “Trump is also proposing cutting childcare for low-income parents attending college and eliminating a fund that underwrites anti-bullying programs, Advanced Placement courses and STEM coursework. He’d keep the same level of funding — $492 million — for historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other ‘minority-serving’ colleges.”

DeVos eliminated a federal task force that helped crackdown on abuses at for-profit colleges.

Politico: “Beyond those changes, for-profit colleges are notching wins behind the scenes, as Education Department regulators scale back their enforcement of the industry and decide individual cases in ways that favor the industry. The administration quietly killed a federal task force designed to crack down on abuses at for-profit colleges and share information across investigative agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Securities and Exchange Commission and state attorneys general.”

Trump’s budget would eliminate after-school programs that serve 1.6 million children, primarily from low-income neighborhoods.

NPR: “The Education Department faces a 13.5 percent cut in spending, including the elimination of $1.2 billion in after-school programs and a $2.3 billion program to reduce class sizes and train teachers.”

Washington Post: “The cuts would come from eliminating at least 22 programs, some of which Trump outlined in March. Gone, for example, would be $1.2 billion for after-school programs that serve 1.6 million children, most of whom are poor, and $2.1 billion for teacher training and class-size reduction.”

Trump’s budget cut teacher training programs by $2.1 billion and funding for special education programs.

Education Week: “The biggest single line-item to be eliminated is $2.1 billion for supporting teacher development and reducing class size under Title II.”

Education Week: “Grants for special education, which also go out by formula, get $12.7 billion in Trump’s budget, a decline of about $112 million from the amount in the fiscal 2017 budget deal.”

Trump’s budget eliminated a program providing on-campus childcare for low-income parents pursuing a college degree.

Politico: “Campus childcare: Parents pursuing a college degree who might have grown accustomed to bringing their children to campus would have to look elsewhere for childcare as the administration would get rid of the Child Care Access Means Parents in School program, which provides on-campus childcare for low-income parents. Budget documents say the $15 million program ‘provides an important service,’ but ‘subsidizing expenses associated with child care is not consistent with the Department’s mission.’”

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