Betsy DeVos
People have varying opinions on Michigan's Betsy DeVos, president elect-Donald Trump's pick to head the Department of Education.
Free Press Columnist Brian Dickerson is among those with an unflattering view, as he explains:
Even a truncated confirmation hearing designed to limit the nominee's exposure couldn't conceal the myriad ways in which Republican mega-donor Betsy DeVos is unprepared for the responsibility she is about to assume as President-elect Donald Trump's choice to head the U.S. Department of Education.
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, who chairs the committee responsible for vetting the nomination, allotted Democratic committee members just five minutes each to grill DeVos. But even that abbreviated scrutiny revealed some disturbing deficits in her basic knowledge of the department's responsibilities and authority:
She said it should be "up to the states" to make sure public schools meet the needs of disabled students, and appeared to be unaware of the federal law that establishes both requirements and penalties for schools that fail to meet them.
She appeared confused by a question seeking her views on the debate between reformers who want schools to enforce a single standard of competency and those who want to incentivize academic growth.
