On the campaign trail, president-elect Donald Trump made many ambitious promises. When it comes to education, Trump is already delivering with his announcement of Betsy DeVos as his pick for the next secretary of education. His choice of DeVos is a clear signal that he intends to be “the nation’s biggest cheerleader for school choice.”
DeVos is a prominent and generous supporter of school choice, which includes empowering parents and local communities to take greater ownership of education policy.
School choice advocates say increased federal control over education policy is unacceptable. They point to wide disparities in test scores between white and non-white students as proof that urgent action is required to ensure that all students are receiving a quality education. As a result, school choice is becoming an increasingly bipartisan issue.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, DeVos could become a truly transformative education secretary. According to Lindsey Burke, the Will Skillman Fellow in Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation, here are some practical steps DeVos could take to shake up the status quo:
1. Re-authorize the Washington, D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program
Despite being supported by the low-income families it serves and posting impressive educational achievement scores among the students enrolled, the status of the nation’s first federally funded voucher school program has been in limbo for years. DeVos could immediately work with Congress to re-authorize the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (DCOSP) and provide low-income families access to high performing private schools.
Despite spending nearly $18,000 per-pupil, Washington, D.C. has one of the worst high school graduation rates in the country. Many students cannot read at grade level. The DCSOSP is an important lifeline for parents looking for increased options to ensure that their children receive a decent education.
2. Have Federal Dollars Follow Low-Income Students; Not Schools
Ever since Lyndon Johnson's administration embarked on creating the Great Society in the 1960s, a significant sum of federal dollars have been devoted to helping the most disadvantaged students. Today, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides nearly $15 billion in funding for low-income neighborhood schools
Unfortunately, the funding process has grown cumbersome and complicated. More importantly, there is scant evidence that is truly living up to Johnson’s intention of “providing a good education for every boy and girl — no matter where he lives.”
A better approach would let states make their Title I dollars “portable,” meaning that students and families could use federal monies to pay for tuition, tutoring services and even books and online courses. In other words, the money would follow the student, and not necessarily the school, or school district.
DeVos “could really lend her voice to become an advocate for Title I portability in a meaningful way,” Burke told Opportunity Lives.
3. Reform the Network of Schools for Native American Students
Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who served President Obama until late last year, called the network of Native American schools run by the federal government “the epitome of broken” and “utterly bankrupt.”
A recent Politico investigation revealed:
The 48,000 students unfortunate enough to attend BIE schools have some of the lowest test scores and graduation rates in the country — even as the education they’re getting is among the nation’s most expensive: At $15,000 per pupil, the system costs 56 percent more than the national average.
DeVos, Burke says, could immediately begin reforming this system in crisis by letting Native American communities have a greater say in customizing their children’s education. With Education Saving Accounts (ESAs), parents would be able to use federal dollars to pay for a variety of school-related services. This could include sending their children to a private school of their choice.
4. Turn Washington, D.C. into an All-Choice City
It’s not outside the realm of possibility for the next education secretary to work with Congress to make Washington, D.C. into an all-choice city. This could mean Washington families having greater access to charter schools — public schools that have greater independence and have been proven to provide low-income families with a quality education.
Following Hurricane Katrina, a devastated New Orleans decided to embark on a nearly all-charter school system with mostly positive results. A recent study by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools found that the racial achievement gap between white and black students has nearly closed. It’s possible that “within a few years, not a single New Orleans student will be forced to attend a failing public school,” the study concluded.
This would be remarkable considering that nearly half of all failing public schools in Louisiana were located in the city of New Orleans.
DeVos could replicate what’s worked in New Orleans in our nation’s capital.
5. Continue to Be a Champion for Charter Schools
Charter schools are the fastest growing form of public school options and increasingly popular among African American and Latino students. In some cities, successful charter schools are providing low-income immigrant families with the means to live out the American Dream.
Nina Rees, CEO and executive director for the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools recently told Opportunity Lives three ways DeVos could promote charter schools. She could advocate an increase in funding for the federal charter schools program. She could ensure charters have access to same funding streams that district public schools can access. And she could promote the innovations in charters and invest in research and development so the lessons we learn in our schools can be replicated and scaled in traditional schools.
