The elephant in the room: Trump education policy
As Donald Trump settles into office, a pachyderm-size question now looms for educators: What will U.S. education policy look like under his Republican-led administration?
On the campaign trail, Trump discussed eliminating the Common Core, scaling back the influence of the U.S. Department of Education, and supporting school choice with vouchers and an increase in charter and magnet schools.
His most significant proposal was a $20 billion federal program to provide an opportunity for low-income students to choose private or charter schools, which would include states contributing an additional $110 billion. Trump also pledged to give states more control over the distribution of federal education funding, although he did not describe how such goals would be achieved.
DeVos as education leader
Providing some insight into Trump’s education vision is the nomination of Betsy DeVos as education secretary. DeVos, who has never served in public office or worked in a public school, is an education activist, having spent time as chairperson for both the American Federation for Children and the Alliance for School Choice. Both organizations promote school choice and privatization. And she advocates for education vouchers and private charter schools.
Although DeVos served on the board of Jeb Bush’s Foundation for Excellence in Education, which supported Common Core standards, she took to Twitter shortly after Trump’s nomination to state: “Many of you are asking about Common Core. To clarify, I am not a supporter—period.”
