"I have many concerns for my own students and the rest of the country's children who attend our public schools now that DeVos has been confirmed. She claims that she wants to 'fight for quality education for all children,' but her actions in Michigan and her donations to worrisome organizations and campaigns simply do not reflect that. She does not seem to be a strong advocate for our nation's children, but rather an advocate for her own personal ideas and interests in education reform.
Her complete lack of basic knowledge surrounding IDEA – a law that any person with actual experience in education should recognize immediately – concerns me the most. After stumbling over a question on her commitment to protecting the rights of disabled students during her Senate hearing, her follow-up letter several days later still showed a fundamental lack of understanding of what public schools truly do for students with disabilities. I find it hard to believe that DeVos, a person with such a lack of knowledge about public schools and what they do, truly wants to reform public schools for any other reason besides personal gain.
I was particularly disappointed to hear that DeVos had been confirmed after watching an overwhelming number of people speak out against her nomination. I was especially disheartened that Senator Deb Fischer (R-Ne) voted to confirm her after so many of her constituents (myself included) contacted her to express their concern with DeVos. I wanted to believe that citizens could help stop this nomination."
