Our 2018 budget makes a historic investment in America's students. pic.twitter.com/FrTi1zNDFg

— Betsy DeVos (@BetsyDeVosED) May 23, 2017

Christian school @BetsyDeVosED is visiting in her #trumpbudget ad doesn't accept special education students… twitter.com/i/web/status/8…—
Jennifer Berkshire (@BisforBerkshire) May 23, 2017

Categories Education Reform

35 Comments Post your own or leave a trackback: Trackback URL

Duane E Swacker says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:12 pm

“. . . They must be willing to conform to the policies and ideals of the school.”

Jawohl, mein fuhrer.

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- Zorba says:
  
  May 24, 2017 at 3:46 pm
  
  Achtung!
  
  Reply
drext727 says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:21 pm

Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education and commented:

There is not any “conflict of interest” here.

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Yvonne Siu-Runyan says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:22 pm

There’s NOTHING Christian about DeVoodoo.

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Chiara says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:26 pm

Imagine if Betsy DeVos showed the same passion and zeal for public schools as she does for private schools!

Imagine if public school kids had an advocate like that! Sadly, not only do they not get one, they’re told they shouldn’t even expect to ever get one. The best they can hope for is a US Secretary of Education who promises not to ACTIVELY MAKE THEIR SCHOOLS WORSE. Wow! Thanks, Mrs. DeVos. So generous of you to agree to stop attacking their schools.

Public school kids get the useless, potted plant “agnostics” while charters and vouchers get True Believers. It’s really not fair to them.

We should pass a hat and hire them a real advocate. Someone who loves public schools the way ed reformers love charters and private schools. Why are they stuck with such mealy-mouthed wimps who get rolled by zealots at every turn?

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- bethree5 says:
  
  May 25, 2017 at 1:45 am
  
  Perhaps we need ‘True Believers’ to advocate for public schools. I can imagine such folks. Perhaps drawn from civil rights’ leaders, as they gradually lay aside their illusions about fed-imposed annual testing, & how ‘raising the bar” would somehow magically cause increased fed funding targeted toward low-performing schools.
  
  But my gut tells me that ‘true believers’ is about letting ideologues run the show. Which was already going on in DC since the 2010 election of Tea-Partiers, causing complete constipation of legislation– & has briefly been on steroids since Trump was elected: only recently have the ideologues been isolated w/the moniker ‘Freedom Causus’, & more practical factions brought to bear,
  
  Public schooling is a very practical venue. We have 90% of the nation’s kids. We don’t need ‘true blievers’, we just need to corral our base.
  
  Reply
alphawolf1 (@alphawolf1) says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:27 pm

They’re both POS, her and the school.

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Ed Ciaccio says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:30 pm

A ‘Christian’ school which does not accept students with disabilities is ‘Christian’ in name only, as are DeVos, Mike Pence, and Paul Ryan, among many others who harm the poor and are intolerant of anyone who is “different”.

As both a student of history who minored in Christian theology and a recovering Catholic, I well know the atrocious history of establishment Christianity and its intolerance, cruelty, and violence. But the essential message of compassion, lost to politics and greed, is still important, and highlights the hypocrisy of so many alleged ‘Christians’, especially those posing as such who do not practice what Jesus preached.

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- Duane E Swacker says:
  
  May 24, 2017 at 3:41 pm
  
  “Christian’ in name only” I use “xtian” to signify that.
  
  And as far as “a recovering Catholic” I can understand but I’m still a totally unrepentant one.
  
  Reply
- Zorba says:
  
  May 24, 2017 at 3:44 pm
  
  “Christian in name only” is exactly what they are, Ed.
  Many years ago, someone asked Mahatma Gandhi what he thought of Christianity. The Mahatma responded “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
  That is even more true now.
  
  Reply
  - Michael Fiorillo says:
    
    May 24, 2017 at 5:16 pm
    
    I never heard that one; it’s very good.
    
    There’s also the quote attributed to him, whereby when asked what he thought of “Western Civilization,” he said “I think it would be a good idea.”
  - Zorba says:
    
    May 24, 2017 at 8:23 pm
    
    Yes, Michael, I had heard of that one, too.
howardat58 says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:38 pm

So bye bye, Lazarus.

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- Duane E Swacker says:
  
  May 24, 2017 at 3:41 pm
  
  Like, subtle yet jabbing!
  
  Reply
Chiara says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:38 pm

DeVos gave a speech to the faithful yesterday where she cited two (failing, of course) examples of public school students and two (succeeding, of course) examples of private school students.

Why is this okay in ed reform? How is it acceptable to portray every public school student and graduate in the country as a failure who is headed straight to prison in order to push their agenda? It isn’t just that it’s a lie. It’s that it’s outrageous for public employees to be touring the country bashing public school kids.

Just leave our kids out of your political campaigns. It’s bad enough we have to pay your salaries. They’re not some “good, bad example” for political hacks to exploit.

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Christine Langhoff says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:42 pm

Katherine Clarke presses DeVos on schools doing the choosing. DeVos’ answer? Choice – like a fly on a pile of dog pooh.

https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4671152/education-secretary-pressedd-accountability-charter-schools

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Chiara says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:46 pm

Imagine a US Secretary of Education who promoted public school funding by attacking charters and private schools. There would be such outrage in ed reform circles that person would have to resign.

But they do it every day to public schools and get standing ovations.

I got news for them. This isn’t “agnostic” and it isn’t “science”. It’s propaganda. It’s also not “putting kids first” unless public school kids don’t count for some reason.

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- NYC public school parent says:
  
  May 24, 2017 at 2:57 pm
  
  Thank you. You are absolutely correct. And the pro-charter people on here who post that they “disagree” with DeVos are complicit. Every single one.
  
  Reply
  - Zorba says:
    
    May 24, 2017 at 4:02 pm
    
    That includes the pro-voucher people who seek to distance themselves from DeVos, as well, NYC public school parent.
  - NYC public school parent says:
    
    May 25, 2017 at 1:23 pm
    
    The pro-charter folks (both the ones who claim to be against vouchers and for vouchers) who criticize DeVos remind me of John McCain and his “tut tuts” about President Trump’s actions.
    
    Lots of words while McCain remains entirely complicit when it comes to taking action that would prevent the corruption of his party. Susan Collins is exactly the same way. It’s certainly not surprising that Collins was the one person single-handedly responsible for DeVos because when the right wing Republicans needed her vote in committee she happily COMPLIED and expressed her “John McCain-like disapproval” only when DeVos was guaranteed to get approval. Collins justification that she just wanted to allow a full Senate vote is belied by her previous insistence that joining the right wing Republican filibusters to give them their 40th vote was because she did not want to allow the entire Senate to vote on something that the right wing Republicans knew had 59 votes.
    
    Complicit. They are the collaborators whose willingness to shut up and toe the line when necessary allows this. I hope they go down in history as the collaborators they are because the Trump/DeVos agenda could not happen without collaborators like Collins, and every pro-charter advocate unwilling to speak out against the people who enrich their bank accounts when their voices are needed.
joan says:

May 24, 2017 at 2:55 pm

Betty certainly knows how to dance around a question and never answer it- What is the name of the school that doesn’t allow children with disabilities as referenced?

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- Zorba says:
  
  May 24, 2017 at 4:00 pm
  
  Looks like it’s “CARE,” Christian Academy for Reaching Excellence.
  Well, so-called “excellence.” And so-called “Christian.”
  Apparently, they have never read the Bible that they profess to believe in. (And neither has Betsy.)
  Such as Matthew 25-40: “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
  Not to mention the Sermon on the Mount.
  And many other passages in the New Testament.
  
  Reply
Scott says:

May 24, 2017 at 4:00 pm

Most Children Left Behind

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Scisne says:

May 24, 2017 at 4:10 pm

The phrase “whitened sepulchers” comes to mind.

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Christine Langhoff says:

May 24, 2017 at 5:16 pm

If you’re in need of an antidote to Trump and to toxic Betsy, here’s a powerful one – Fred Rogers. I guess the DeVos family never tuned in.

http://ew.com/tv/2017/05/23/remembering-mr-rogers/

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jcgrim says:

May 24, 2017 at 6:26 pm

I find that fake caring look as offensive as her policies. This child’s family wouldn’t be allowed to step into her home or social circle unless they were wearing an apron & a hairnet.

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artseagal says:

May 24, 2017 at 6:55 pm

How can this disgrace of a human being represent our nation’s children nationally in her Secretary of Education position and support schools that actively discriminate in the worst of ways! May all the parents of special needs students, their friends, family and work mates and public school teachers too, rise up against this vile abuse of power. DeVos could not even attend one of her “charters” because she clearly has learning issues!

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- Zorba says:
  
  May 24, 2017 at 8:43 pm
  
  It’s not that she necessarily has learning issues, Art. It’s that she lacks any kind of compassion or empathy. Or call it a “soul,” if you are religious.
  
  Reply
  - artseagal says:
    
    May 25, 2017 at 6:12 pm
    
    Yes Zorba, surely she lacks a soul but I also think her on thinking process is very off!
Charles says:

May 24, 2017 at 7:37 pm

Not every public school has the facilities or staff to deal with special-needs children. It is not fair, to expect private/parochial schools to do so either.

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JEM says:

May 25, 2017 at 12:47 am

Every single public school in my district serves special ed children. There may be specific programs in specific schools that serve specific populations (i.e. — non ambulatory kids whose daily education involves physical therapy may all be servied at schools with highly specialized child physical therapists) — but ALL children are served, and NONE of the schools serve none of them. Each of these children is entitled to a “free appropriate public” education — and NO school receiving public tax dollars to educate their children should be permitted to ignore their obligation to educate their share of these kids (hint — their share is NOT zero). If they cannot be bothered to follow these rules — they should be private schools, supported by private tuition.

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- retiredbutmissthekids says:
  
  May 25, 2017 at 9:19 am
  
  Absolutely, JEM. And that’s why now it’s more important than ever to fight like hell in each & every state. Used to be, if a school, district or state “ruling” attempted to quash services, one could get out the law–IDEA–& read to the quashers–federal law supercedes state & local. But this won’t happen under the new order of the DeVos D.o.Ed.
  This has to be approached as a community–parents & teachers working together to ensure the education that each & every child is entitled to in a PUBLIC school.
  
  Reply
DM says:

May 25, 2017 at 2:11 am

The title emphasizes only the negative. How can that be called good reporting? What are the reasons for the school doing this? Is it possible they are underfunded and cannot afford trained specialists? Is their honesty in saying we can’t help such children not refreshing? As a supply teacher I have been in many public schools where they should not accept students because simply they do not have the qualified staff to do the work! And these schools have public funding!
Also, I find that DR’s viewpoints and opinions are extremely biased and often sound like a rant.

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- Zorba says:
  
  May 25, 2017 at 12:20 pm
  
  Here’s a coincidence, I just found YOUR viewpoint and opinion extremely biased.
  You can always go elsewhere, you know, instead of dropping in to b!tch and whine and moan.
  Don’t let the door hit you in the…….
  
  Reply
Laurie Staples says:

May 25, 2017 at 5:53 pm

Then we have a problem in Florida that’s how private schools collect the biggest dollars look on McKay scholarship list of schools all of them advertising to provide for special needs. When the fact of the matter is they don’t provide proper Services and are Government continue to feed the money to them start investigation. Florida first.

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