To: The United States Senate
Pennsylvanians Against DeVos
Pennsylvania's students deserve to be lead by someone who puts their needs first, not the interests of privately held companies. Betsy DeVos does not have any educational experience or background and lacks a thorough understanding of issues facing our schools and its students. On Monday. February 6th @ 6:30 am, the Senate will vote on Betsy DeVos. Sign this petition to show Senator Pat Toomey that Pennsylvanians want him to vote NO on DeVos.
Why is this important?
During Betsy DeVos' confirmation hearing, her answers missed the mark to ensure the safety and equitability of students around the country.
Here is what that hearing revealed to us:
~DeVos refused to agree that schools are no place for guns, citing one school that needs a gun to protect against grizzly bears.
~DeVos seems to lack a basic understanding of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which requires public schools to provide free and appropriate education to students with disabilities.
~She refused to agree that all schools that receive federal funds should be held to the same standards of accountability. This includes traditional public, public charter, and private schools that receive voucher money. Her political donations in Michigan prevented charter schools from being held to the same accountability standards as public schools. She has fought against accountability for charter schools which begs the question, what are these schools hiding?
~DeVos said that she would review gainful employment regulations without agreeing to enforce them. These regulations are in place to protect students and taxpayers by withholding federal student aid to career training programs that leave students buried in debt.
~She could not give her opinion on one of the most basic issues related to education when asked how she preferred to measure student progress- by proficiency or student growth.
Her agenda to use taxpayer money to funnel money towards Christian Schools is unconstitutional. In 2001 Betsy DeVos and her husband were interviewed at "The Gathering," an annual summit for wealthy Christians. They were questioned about their work promoting the use of government funds on private and religious schools. She stated:
"Our desire is to be in the Shephelah, and confront the culture in which we all live today in ways that will continue to help advance God's Kingdom, but not stay in our own faith territory.
"It goes back to what I mentioned, the concept of really being active in the Shephelah of our culture - to impact our culture in ways that are not the traditional funding-the-Christian-organization route, but that really may have greater Kingdom gain in the long run by changing the way we approach things - in this case, the system of education in the country."
You can listen to the entire interview here: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/betsy-devos-education-trump-religion-232150
Her family has donated millions of dollars to political campaigns to buy policy outcomes and they have done a lot of damage to students and the public school systems in Michigan. According to the Nation’s Report Card, Michigan ranks near the bottom of fourth and eighth-grade math and fourth grade reading on a nationally ranked representative test. However, the charter schools in Michigan scored worse than the traditional public schools according to federal data. She is highly unqualified for the position of Secretary of Education.
Our children deserve better than Betsy DeVos.
Here is what that hearing revealed to us:
~DeVos refused to agree that schools are no place for guns, citing one school that needs a gun to protect against grizzly bears.
~DeVos seems to lack a basic understanding of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), which requires public schools to provide free and appropriate education to students with disabilities.
~She refused to agree that all schools that receive federal funds should be held to the same standards of accountability. This includes traditional public, public charter, and private schools that receive voucher money. Her political donations in Michigan prevented charter schools from being held to the same accountability standards as public schools. She has fought against accountability for charter schools which begs the question, what are these schools hiding?
~DeVos said that she would review gainful employment regulations without agreeing to enforce them. These regulations are in place to protect students and taxpayers by withholding federal student aid to career training programs that leave students buried in debt.
~She could not give her opinion on one of the most basic issues related to education when asked how she preferred to measure student progress- by proficiency or student growth.
Her agenda to use taxpayer money to funnel money towards Christian Schools is unconstitutional. In 2001 Betsy DeVos and her husband were interviewed at "The Gathering," an annual summit for wealthy Christians. They were questioned about their work promoting the use of government funds on private and religious schools. She stated:
"Our desire is to be in the Shephelah, and confront the culture in which we all live today in ways that will continue to help advance God's Kingdom, but not stay in our own faith territory.
"It goes back to what I mentioned, the concept of really being active in the Shephelah of our culture - to impact our culture in ways that are not the traditional funding-the-Christian-organization route, but that really may have greater Kingdom gain in the long run by changing the way we approach things - in this case, the system of education in the country."
You can listen to the entire interview here: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/12/betsy-devos-education-trump-religion-232150
Her family has donated millions of dollars to political campaigns to buy policy outcomes and they have done a lot of damage to students and the public school systems in Michigan. According to the Nation’s Report Card, Michigan ranks near the bottom of fourth and eighth-grade math and fourth grade reading on a nationally ranked representative test. However, the charter schools in Michigan scored worse than the traditional public schools according to federal data. She is highly unqualified for the position of Secretary of Education.
Our children deserve better than Betsy DeVos.