With the transition to the Biden-Harris administration, we’re witnessing a wave of positive changes: a comprehensive approach to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the first Black, South Asian, and female Vice President, and a leader with a solid history of supporting labor unions. However, the most welcome change might be the departure of Betsy DeVos, who many consider the least effective Secretary of Education the U.S. has seen. Educators across the nation are relieved to see her go.
From the outset, DeVos’s tenure was marked by a troubling record. As reported by the National Education Association, she had no experience in public education — never having worked as a teacher, administrator, or staff member — and she didn’t even enroll her own children in public schools. Instead, she and her family invested millions in promoting school privatization, supporting pro-voucher candidates, and influencing the development of Detroit’s charter school system, which the NEA criticized for lacking oversight and accountability while draining resources from public schools. Her approach has been deemed “one of the biggest school reform disasters in the country.”
The decision to appoint DeVos was indicative of the prior administration’s agenda to undermine public education.
DeVos Undermined Protections for Transgender Students
Under the Obama Administration, protections were in place for transgender students under Title IX, allowing them to use facilities that align with their gender identity. DeVos rolled back these protections, as highlighted by The Hill. Moreover, her Department of Education threatened to withhold federal funding from Connecticut school districts that permitted transgender athletes to participate in sports corresponding to their gender identity, arguing it violated Title IX.
In one notable case, DeVos pressured Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire to change its definition of “female athlete” following a lawsuit involving a trans woman, Cecé Telfer, who made history by winning the NCAA Division II 400-meter hurdles. Despite her groundbreaking achievement, DeVos’s actions led the university to reverse its stance under the threat of federal funding cuts.
DeVos Attempted to Erode Rights for Disabled Students
Every parent of a child with special needs is familiar with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which guarantees access to public education for all children with disabilities. DeVos either misunderstood or disregarded this federal law, suggesting it was an issue best handled at the state level, as reported by Vox.
Her push for education privatization led to the misuse of special education vouchers, allowing states to divert public funds to private institutions where families forfeited their rights under IDEA. This meant no assurance that their children would receive a proper education in the least restrictive environment. Reports from Florida revealed alarming practices, including schools offering “business management” classes where children were forced to solicit donations on street corners, alongside widespread corporal punishment.
DeVos Neglected Civil Rights Investigations
DeVos made it a policy to dismiss civil rights claims concerning systemic issues within school systems, as reported by ProPublica. For instance, when Black students in DeSoto, Mississippi faced disproportionate corporal punishment for similar infractions compared to white students, her administration quickly closed investigations inherited from the Obama era, finding no wrongdoing despite clear evidence.
She Used Flawed Studies to Justify Policies
In 2014, Obama mandated schools to utilize restorative justice practices to reduce racial disparities in school discipline. DeVos and her team reversed these policies in the name of school safety after the Parkland shooting. They argued they would not interfere with school discipline unless it violated federal law. Notably, DeVos relied on a controversial study that blamed “prior problem behavior” among Black children for disciplinary disparities, ignoring the prevailing evidence of systemic racism, implicit bias, and the lack of educators of color.
DeVos Enabled Scams in For-Profit Colleges
DeVos eliminated an Obama-era requirement that for-profit colleges disclose “debt-to-earning ratios” to demonstrate the financial success of their graduates. This policy change meant that federal funding continued to flow to programs with failing outcomes, costing taxpayers over $5 billion and leaving students with unmanageable debt. She appointed industry insiders to oversee investigations into for-profit colleges, raising concerns about accountability.
Here’s What We Need from the Biden-Harris Administration
We call upon you to restore and revitalize the education department that DeVos dismantled. Your commitment to safeguarding vulnerable populations is commendable; now extend that commitment to education. We require robust protections for students most in need—particularly students of color, transgender students, and those facing various forms of inequality, whether in struggling urban schools or in underfunded rural areas.
Address the racial disparities in school discipline that DeVos exacerbated. Reinstate restorative justice practices instead of suspensions and legal threats. And let’s put an end to corporal punishment; no child should face violence in educational settings.
It’s also crucial to safeguard the rights of disabled students and equip teachers with the resources necessary to support them effectively. This includes increased aides and access to ensure that every child receives a full and fair education in the least restrictive environment.
For for-profit colleges, student loan forgiveness is essential, along with stricter oversight of underperforming programs. We need help addressing the overwhelming student debt crisis that many of us, especially Millennials, are facing.
We recognize the magnitude of the task at hand, as we ask you to undo four years of mismanagement under DeVos. We placed our trust in you and your administration, believing in your capacity to effect meaningful change.