By State Rep. Shamed Dogan
As a parent, a member of the Missouri House Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, and a committed supporter of school choice, I know well the importance of strong advocates for our nation’s education system. This week, Congress will hold confirmation hearings for Betsy DeVos, President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Education.
While I don’t agree with with the President-elect on every issue, I wholeheartedly support his pledge to give families more control over their children’s education. Betsy DeVos will make good on that promise. A political outsider and a strong believer in ensuring every child has access to a great education regardless of zip code, she is the ideal choice to upset the established order and bring about change in Washington. Senator McCaskill should look beyond partisanship and support DeVos’ appointment as Secretary of Education.
Betsy DeVos’ record of service to our nation’s children is matched by few. As the chairman of the American Federation for Children (AFC), DeVos has helped pass many laws to improve the education systems of more than 25 states. She has worked tirelessly to expand access to great schools for children everywhere, and as a result, there are now more than 1,200 school choice programs in operation nationwide. Nearly 400,000 students received scholarships in the 2015-2016 school year to attend the school of their choice, thanks in large part to DeVos’ work. Expanding freedom of choice in education is critical to empowering children to succeed, particularly those from low-income households and underperforming schools, and DeVos’ history of success in this area is truly noteworthy.
Like myself, DeVos’ devotion to school choice is rooted in a deep belief in the importance of giving families the freedom to decide what works for them. America’s world-renowned higher education system is based on the principle that low-income students can choose the schools that are best for them—there are no restrictions on using Pell Grants or GI Bill scholarships at private or religious colleges. We need to bring that same principle to K-12 schools so that they can be more competitive with the rest of the world. The US Constitution clearly allows it.
Not surprisingly, school choice is a good thing for public schools as well. Nearly every study shows that scholarships to attend private schools encourage competition, and the growing presence of alternatives to public schools incentivizes responsiveness and improvements in those schools. DeVos’ work shows that she understands that expanding individual opportunity is key to improving the system as a whole.
DeVos also understands that along with choice, we also must have accountability. In instances when charter schools do not perform as expected, they should be shut down. This has happened in DeVos’ home state of Michigan, but it not happened in our public schools. For decades, politicians and bureaucrats have allowed the worst performing schools to remain open, and in the process, they have done a grave disservice to countless children.
The stage has been set for a strong leader like DeVos to make our education system as great as it can be under the incoming administration. In 2015, Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), returning control over many facets of education back to states. Implementation of this law requires a leader who understands how to balance free market forces with federal oversight, and few are better prepared for this task than DeVos. As a parent, her emphasis on empowering families to make the right decisions for their own children is genuine, and as a political outsider, she will fight special interests and partisan distractions. The policy infrastructure for improving our education system is in place, and DeVos is the perfect leader to implement it.
The voters spoke loudly and clearly in November that they are ready for a new direction in Washington, and Betsy DeVos is emblematic of the change that Americans want to see in education. With nearly 30 years of experience advancing our nation’s education system and a deep belief in empowering parents and children, she is ready to expand educational freedoms for everyone. It is of the utmost importance that Senator McCaskill support DeVos’ nomination as our next Secretary of Education.
