Someone wrote an executive order, dated December 28, and signed Donald Trump’s name to it, declaring that the emergency conditions created by the COVID make it vital to use federal funds for vouchers. Don’t waste a minute! Scoop up federal funds and put your child in a substandard voucher school!
We know that Trump didn’t write the executive order because he’s at Mar-a-Lago nursing his grievances.
It appears to have been written by Jim Blew, who works for her and used to work for the Walton Foundation. Even if Trump refuses to concede, DeVos knows it’s over and she will use her last days in office to throw money out the door to find vouchers for private and religious schools.
Andrew Ujifusa of Education Week tweeted that the program Trump wants to use for vouchers is part of HHS, the Community Services Block Grants, and it does NOT make individual grants. Shows how desperate Betsy is to funnel money to vouchers as the sun sets on her days in the Department of Education.
He wrote:
In a new executive order, Trump says he’s authorizing HHS to allow Community Services Block Grant money to fund private school scholarships, homeschooling, and other education services “for use by any child without access to in-person learning.”
Then, in follow-up tweets”
The Community Services Block Grants program “provides funds to alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in communities.” Notably, the program doesn’t provide direct grants to individuals.
It’s not immediately clear to me that Trump can do this through an executive order.
The Trump administration tried but failed to get a school choice expansion into the COVID relief package Trump signed yesterday.
Again, I’d pump the brakes before assuming this executive order delivers a major (or any) K-12 choice boost. Plus, Biden is on the way, etc...
It’s worth remembering that folks were reportedly negotiating to get vouchers/some form of school choice into the COVID deal up until the last few hours. I’m not sure if the Trump administration laid any regulatory groundwork for this EO, or if this is a last-ditch gesture.
He concludes his thread by saying that Betsy has pushed hard to get vouchers into the COVID bill.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Here is a link to the announcement. The Executive order is not yet posted in the Federal Register.
https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2020/12/28/secretary-azar-statement-on-executive-order-supporting-in-person-schooling.html
None of the thousands of federal employees we’re all paying lifted a finger to assist public schools in the pandemic but it’s all hands of deck to fund private schools.
Once again public school students are the dead last priority. No one can be bothered to work on their behalf.
Do they worry they’ll be utterly irrelevant to most students and families? They do no work at all on our behalf. Is there some reason we’re paying them to lobby for private schools? Can’t one of the ed reform orgs pick up their salaries?
When public schools get thru this, and they will, I hope we don’t forget that our own government was entirely AWOL for the entire thing. They did nothing.
Here’s the “exit interview” DeVos gave to a fellow ed reform echo chamber member:
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/opinion-an-exit-interview-with-secretary-of-education-betsy-devos/2020/12
Read that and try to find a lick of WORK these folks accomplished that benefits any public school or public school student, anywhere.
There is nothing for our schools or students. 100% cheerleading for the ideological goals- charters and vouchers. We spent hundreds of millions of dollars and got zip for 90% of students in the country. They attend the unfashionable public schools so were either openly denigrated or ignored.
Not getting a lot for our buck here. Perhaps reallocate the funding we push to this huge collection of professional public school critics and hire some people who intend to return some value. If we want public school critics surely one or two will suffice- we don’t need to pay an entire team for this.
Here’s the US Department of Education stating their work of the last four years:
“Rick: What would you regard as your most significant accomplishment in office?
DeVos: Hands down, it’s changing the national conversation around what K-12 education can and should be. The concept of school choice is more popular across racial, ethnic, and political lines than ever before. I’m also proud of the team’s work on the historic Title IX rule which codified into law protections for all students.”
Pushing vouchers and charters. The 50 million public school students in this country? No one did anything for them.
Why are we paying for this anti-public school political campaign being run out of a federal agency? Can any of them point to one thing they actually accomplished for the vast majority of the students who attend public schools?
Another complete waste of four years. We all paid tens of millions of dollars for anti-public school activists to bash our schools and students and promote the private and charter schools they prefer. No one even bothers to mention public school students anymore. They don’t exist.
Keep em coming, Chiara, keep em coming.
Considering trumpty dumpty’s personality, I have to wonder if he’ll fire DeVoid for going behind his back and forging his signature. Be great if someone asked him about that.
More “choice” does not always lead to more opportunity – especially in public education!