On the recordJanuary 12, 2017
I thank my dear colleague, Bonnie Watson Coleman, for yielding to me. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my strong opposition to the nomination of Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education. To start, President-elect Trump's nominee to lead our country's education policy has absolutely no experience in public schools: not as a teacher, not as a student, and not as a parent. That lack of experience makes her efforts to privatize public education particularly shameful. I was a public schoolteacher for more than 24 years--I taught high school--which means that I have spent at least 24 more years in a public school classroom than Betsy DeVos. If she actually stepped inside of a classroom in a public school, here is what she would find: she would find teachers who are giving everything they can, their passion, their time, and often their own money to give kids the best education possible. She would find facilities in need of repair, classrooms in need of modern equipment, and programs in desperate need of funding. She would find students who deserve to receive an exceptional education that will help them reach their potential. But Ms. DeVos has no interest in supporting America's public education system. Instead, she will insert a profit motive into our children's education that will cripple our public schools and punish the millions of children who attend them every day. The Obama administration pushed public schools on a race to the top.…
