The Cabinet post has clearly made a difference.
Feb 23 // Feb 7 2017
Is this a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day?
File this under: Well, now what do we do?
As of about two weeks ago, the country has a new Secretary of Education. Betsy DeVos, a businesswoman, philanthropist and activist was named the country’s 11th Secretary of Education. No, that’s not a typo. We have had only 11 in our more than 240-year history because the Cabinet post has existed only since the late 1970s. Before that, the education of our youth was left in the hands of states and local municipalities. Clearly, the post has made a difference.
For many voters, the nomination was met with some version of “Betsy who?” For others, she was an abomination; an enemy of teachers everywhere, as she advocated for vouchers, charter schools and school choice for parents. The Teachers’ Union was strongly opposed to her nomination and made its case before the American people. She’s a billionaire with no background in education. She never worked as a teacher or an administrator. She doesn’t favor public schools so how can she advocate for them?
And there was the inevitable money trail. As a conservative activist, she and her family generously supported Republican politicians over the years. The headlines were slightly more obtuse (read: silent) about the contributions the Teachers Union has made to Democratic legislators.
Whatever. She made it only because Vice President Pence made it so by casting the tie-breaking vote. So far, she hasn’t broken our schools. Yet.
And then CPAC came along. And with it, the subject of transgendered students and their rights as individuals in schools. The Trump Administration has rescinded the direction from the Obama administration to school districts across the country regarding how to interpret Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools to include transgender students.
The direction at that time was that school districts and every athletic and education association in them "must not treat a transgender student differently from the way it treats other students of the same gender identity." In fact, if they wanted to continue receiving their federal funding, they had to accommodate transgender students and their use of bathrooms, locker rooms and athletic participation based on gender identity, not gender assigned at birth.
According to NPR, the new administration did not change the law. Instead, it restored more flexibility back into the states and districts on how to interpret Title IX and accommodating transgender students.
To Two Weeks Ago News, this sounds like it could be something of a nightmare to transgender students who perhaps aren’t living in the most cosmopolitan or progressive neighborhoods in the country. The again, who can say? In Arkansas and Iowa, for example, there are laws prohibiting bullying, harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
So what about Secretary DeVos? Given the outrage at her nomination and subsequent approval, this can’t be good for people who opposed her and her conservative values. Let’s find out.
Again, according to NPR, things weren’t entirely smooth in the Jeff Sessions / Betsy DeVos decision about rescinding that guidance from the Obama administration. Apparently, she wanted to ensure protection for transgender students.
Huh. Here’s what she said: (italics added by TWAN)
"We have a responsibility to protect every student in America and ensure that they have the freedom to learn and thrive in a safe and trusted environment. This is not merely a federal mandate, but a moral obligation no individual, school, district or state can abdicate. At my direction, the Department's Office for Civil Rights remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination, bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools. ... I consider protecting all students, including LGBTQ students, not only a key priority for the Department, but for every school in America."
We’ve looked and looked but we haven’t seen one post or own tweet maligning that stance. Where are the people who supported her nomination? Aren’t they horrified? Ummm. Nope. Maybe the people who supported her knew she was smart enough to recognize the diverse needs of the students (and their families) served by her department.
Where are the people who despised her and predicted an end to all civil discourse about our educational system and the ruination of our public schools? How do they explain this? Is she on the right side of this particular issue but no other? We suppose anything is possible.
Weird how that seems to happen, though, right? Outrage, outrage, outrage.
Crickets.
Is this a case of a stopped clock being right twice a day?
File this under: Well, now what do we do?
As of about two weeks ago, the country has a new Secretary of Education. Betsy DeVos, a businesswoman, philanthropist and activist was named the country’s 11th Secretary of Education. No, that’s not a typo. We have had only 11 in our more than 240-year history because the Cabinet post has existed only since the late 1970s. Before that, the education of our youth was left in the hands of states and local municipalities. Clearly, the post has made a difference.
For many voters, the nomination was met with some version of “Betsy who?” For others, she was an abomination; an enemy of teachers everywhere, as she advocated for vouchers, charter schools and school choice for parents. The Teachers’ Union was strongly opposed to her nomination and made its case before the American people. She’s a billionaire with no background in education. She never worked as a teacher or an administrator. She doesn’t favor public schools so how can she advocate for them?
And there was the inevitable money trail. As a conservative activist, she and her family generously supported Republican politicians over the years. The headlines were slightly more obtuse (read: silent) about the contributions the Teachers Union has made to Democratic legislators.
Whatever. She made it only because Vice President Pence made it so by casting the tie-breaking vote. So far, she hasn’t broken our schools. Yet.
And then CPAC came along. And with it, the subject of transgendered students and their rights as individuals in schools. The Trump Administration has rescinded the direction from the Obama administration to school districts across the country regarding how to interpret Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination in schools to include transgender students.
The direction at that time was that school districts and every athletic and education association in them "must not treat a transgender student differently from the way it treats other students of the same gender identity." In fact, if they wanted to continue receiving their federal funding, they had to accommodate transgender students and their use of bathrooms, locker rooms and athletic participation based on gender identity, not gender assigned at birth.
According to NPR, the new administration did not change the law. Instead, it restored more flexibility back into the states and districts on how to interpret Title IX and accommodating transgender students.
To Two Weeks Ago News, this sounds like it could be something of a nightmare to transgender students who perhaps aren’t living in the most cosmopolitan or progressive neighborhoods in the country. The again, who can say? In Arkansas and Iowa, for example, there are laws prohibiting bullying, harassment and discrimination on the basis of gender identity.
So what about Secretary DeVos? Given the outrage at her nomination and subsequent approval, this can’t be good for people who opposed her and her conservative values. Let’s find out.
Again, according to NPR, things weren’t entirely smooth in the Jeff Sessions / Betsy DeVos decision about rescinding that guidance from the Obama administration. Apparently, she wanted to ensure protection for transgender students.
Huh. Here’s what she said: (italics added by TWAN)
"We have a responsibility to protect every student in America and ensure that they have the freedom to learn and thrive in a safe and trusted environment. This is not merely a federal mandate, but a moral obligation no individual, school, district or state can abdicate. At my direction, the Department's Office for Civil Rights remains committed to investigating all claims of discrimination, bullying and harassment against those who are most vulnerable in our schools. ... I consider protecting all students, including LGBTQ students, not only a key priority for the Department, but for every school in America."
We’ve looked and looked but we haven’t seen one post or own tweet maligning that stance. Where are the people who supported her nomination? Aren’t they horrified? Ummm. Nope. Maybe the people who supported her knew she was smart enough to recognize the diverse needs of the students (and their families) served by her department.
Where are the people who despised her and predicted an end to all civil discourse about our educational system and the ruination of our public schools? How do they explain this? Is she on the right side of this particular issue but no other? We suppose anything is possible.
Weird how that seems to happen, though, right? Outrage, outrage, outrage.
Crickets.