Alexander: Senate Takes Next Step to Confirming Betsy DeVos for Education Secretary

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 1, 2017 – Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said the U.S. Senate had taken the next step to confirming Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary, after the Senate voted to begin debate on her nomination.

“Betsy DeVos will be an excellent Education Secretary. Mrs. DeVos believes in our children, their teachers and parents—she believes in the local school board instead of the national school board. She's committed to public education, and there's no better example of that than her work on the most important reform of public schools in the last 30 years—public charter schools. She's made it clear that there will be no mandates from Washington to have vouchers or adopt Common Core when she is the Education Secretary.”

He added: “She believes in the law we passed in December of 2015, with 85 votes, that restores to states and classroom teachers and local school boards the responsibility for making decisions about standards, about tests, about how to help improve schools, about how to evaluate teachers. That law passed because people were so sick and tired of Washington telling local schools so much about what to do.”

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For access to this release and Chairman Alexander’s other statements, click here.