U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday told Education Department employees to resist changes by the upcoming administration that they believe could hurt students, according to a news report.
The website Politico reported that it obtained a recording of DeVos’ remarks at a virtual meeting with Education Department employees in which she noted that many of them will remain through the transition as President-elect Joe Biden takes office.
“Let me leave you with this plea: Resist,” DeVos said, according to the report. “Be the resistance against forces that will derail you from doing what’s right for students. In everything you do, please put students first — always.”
It is not known whether DeVos plans to remain secretary until Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20. DeVos is a billionaire from west Michigan who has a long history as a Republican fundraiser and supporter and made her name in education circles by backing school choice measures in Michigan and across the U.S.
Biden has pledged to undo many of the changes DeVos has made as President Donald Trump’s secretary of education, including putting back in place reforms made under President Barack Obama that limit federal funding to for-profit institutions based on students’ debt and salary levels. He has also said he will work to get rid of changes that provided more protections to students accused of sexual assault on college campuses and limited institutions’ authority to investigate sexual misconduct.
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It could take the Biden administration years to undo those reforms because of the processes by which federal polices may be changed in a way that will withstand legal scrutiny.
The Politico report said DeVos told employees that she came into office in 2017 wanting to “do what’s right for students” and that “four years later it’s still my focus and it’s still my hope for all of you.” She touted her overhaul of rules governing how sexual assaults are handled by education institutions under Title IX.
Contact Todd Spangler attspangler@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter@tsspangler. Read more onMichigan politics and sign up for ourelections newsletter.
Source Article from https://www.freep.com/story/news/politics/2020/12/16/betsy-devos-education-department-resist/3918883001/
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