Amateur Hour: Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education

In a 1997 editorial criticizing campaign finance reform, billionaire Republican mega-donor Betsy DeVos argued that when she donates money to politicians, she expects “something in return.” When President Trump signed documents officially nominating her for Secretary of Education, Mrs. DeVos got just that. Because of her demonstrably superficial understanding of pressing issues in American education, it is hard not to see the DeVos nomination as a blatant payoff for years of conservative monetary activism. Furthermore, the unsound decision to nominate an unprepared apparatchik for one of the most consequential roles in American government is worrisome for the future of education at Harvard.

When asked in 2013 about her greatest success in education reform, DeVos cited Florida, claiming that state “has enjoyed the nation’s longest period of widespread educational choice.” Two things stand out. First, Florida was a curious selection, given that DeVos is a long-term Michigan resident, the former chair of the Michigan Republican Party, and a hugely significant figure in that state’s battles over education reform. An actual look at the DeVos record should start in Detroit, where she was a significant player in the rollout of the nation’s largest urban network of charter schools. And second, Mrs. DeVos claims Florida as a success entirely because of “widespread educational choice,” not any actual improvement in student outcomes. This is wrong and dangerous. Success in education reform should be measured in the quality of education students receive, not the presence or absence of alternatives to traditional public schools.

It is this second issue, Mrs. DeVos’ cultish and dogmatic insistence on privileging “school choice” over actual results, which seems primarily responsible for the utter catastrophe of Michigan’s education system. The Detroit Free Press wrote this year that “In Detroit, parents of school-age children have plenty of choices … What remains in short supply is quality.” It is difficult to dodge the frank conclusion, as one New York Times op-ed put it, that Detroit "is the biggest school reform disaster in the country.” After two decades of aggressive charter school rollout both in Detroit and the remainder of the state, Michigan still dramatically underperforms when compared to the remainder of the nation. More damningly, “about 70 percent of charter schools ranked in the bottom quarter of the state’s schools.” In the year 2013, the DeVos-backed Education Achievement Authority had 10,000 students, issued 6,000 short-term suspensions, and produced exactly one fourth grader who successfully passed the state math test. By diverting money, Detroit charters have “destabilized school district finances” and managed to harm even the surrounding public schools. Michigan State Board of Education President John Austin, himself a vocal charter supporter, called DeVos and her husband “principal agents” of the Michigan catastrophe.

Despite her mortifying record on primary education, Mrs. DeVos still could have soothed critics with a strong knowledge of the Department of Education, an understanding of issues surrounding secondary education, and a solid performance in front of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. She has thus far delivered none of these things.

DeVos’ naiveté on higher education is particularly troubling. When asked whether she supports the Obama administration’s 2011 Title IX guidance on sexual assault, the nominee dodged the question with risible inelegance: “Assault in any form is never OK, and I want to be very clear on that.” Under further questioning, DeVos was forced to admit that she had never managed a bank or loan program or even taken a Pell grant or student loan. She lacked any plan whatsoever to police waste, fraud, and abuse in publicly funded higher education, stuttering instead that she, “if confirmed, will certainly be very vigilant.” The nominee also indulged in some "alternative facts," falsely claiming that student debt had increased by “nearly 1,000 percent in the last eight years.” When asked about reducing college tuition she opined “there is nothing in life that’s truly free.” Wise words from a woman with a net worth of approximately $1.25 billion.

Mrs. DeVos will probably be confirmed, and not just because Republicans control the Senate. It's hard not to think that her family's more than $250,000 in donations to members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions won't play a role. The leadership of the Department of Education matters. Harvard students who receive federal aid through grants, loans, or work studies should be aware that the woman soon to be in charge of those programs is uninformed and inexperienced. The University community should prepare itself for dramatic changes to Title IX, financial aid, and the general government attitude toward higher education. Betsy DeVos has thus far displayed a poor record and a comprehensively inadequate knowledge base. Harvard students should prepare for the worst.

Kiran O. Hampton ’20, a Crimson Editorial writer, lives in Lionel Hall.