Now that Betsy DeVos has been approved as Secretary of Education, she and President Trump plan to oversee one of the biggest changes ever made to American public education. Their plan includes a $20 billion federal voucher program for children living in poverty. The plan, which was outlined in a four-point proposal, would reallocate $20 billion from existing federal spending and create block grants for states to administer to private schools and ultimately offer a school voucher to every child living in poverty in America. Simply put, the duo hopes to increase “school choice,” a term used to describe the wide array of programs offered in the United States that provide students and their families alternatives to public schools. The plan does not specify what "existing federal dollars" would be used to pay for the investment, however the program will likely be funded by dismantling the existing system of federal support for public schools. This support includes $14 billion spent on grants to educate disadvantaged children. DeVos has expressed her disdain for public education, which she describes as a “monopoly” and a “dead end.” However, she does not wish to destroy public education, rather, inject competition. During an interview with POLITICO, DeVos and her husband discuss how their Christian faith drives their efforts to reform American education. For some, DeVos’ devout Christian beliefs are an area of particular criticism, as it could potentially threaten the constitutional premise of separation of church and state. DeVos and her husband have claimed that school choice, will aid to “advance God’s Kingdom.” The two also lament that public schools have “displaced” the Church as the center of communities, and they allude to school choice as a way to reverse that. On one hand, DeVos’ supporters claim that voucher programs provide families more choices regarding their children’s education. On the other hand, however, critics of the plan argue that the policies DeVos wishes to enact will shovel funding from public schools directly into private and religious institutions, threatening the integrity of public schools and the separation of church and state. Other than her stance on enforcing voucher programs, it remains unclear how she plans to tackle other responsibilities of the Department of Education, ranging from administering student loans to enforcing civil rights in schools. by Nyakio Njage
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