This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
The Senate will be holding confirmation hearings for Betsy DeVos on January 17th. If you care about America's public schools, if you think all of our kids should have a solid education, and if you want to prevent religious indoctrination from being subsidized by the federal government, now is the time to call your senator and make your voice heard.
Look up the number here. All you'll need is one simple sentence:
I'm calling to ask [Senator's name] to block Betsy DeVos from the position of education secretary.
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That's it. That's all you have to say. Easy-peasy.
If you want to include a little bit about why you oppose her, you can let them know the following:
[She's] a conservative Christian billionaire who also loves charter schools and vouchers for private (including religious) schools. She pours money and support into anti-evolution Christian schools and organizations like Grove City College and the Willow Creek Association. Betsy DeVos has been a disaster for education in Michigan. Now, she's being given the chance to push that failure of an agenda nationwide.
Remind them that public school parents also want their school choices to be honored - something DeVos will not do:
I understand that Trump won the election and that he was always going to appoint a test-happy Republican nominee who supports vouchers and charter schools. I get that. But would it have been so hard to find someone who both embraces school choice and cares about and values our nation’s public schools? Surely such people exist! Why pick someone who has made undermining public schools their life’s mission, someone who cannot bring herself to say that she supports our nation’s public schools—schools like my daughter’s?
As a parent of two young children, I don’t want a Secretary of Education who supports school choice as much I want a Secretary of Education who supports the school I choose—even if that school is a public school.
And emphasize that her financial conflicts of interests must be investigated by the ethics office before she is confirmed:
People who have seen her financial disclosures so far say that Ms. DeVos and her husband, Dick DeVos, have investments in some 250 companies registered to a single Grand Rapids, Mich., address, entities whose investments could take weeks for the ethics office to research. Already, though, there are reports that the DeVoses are indirect investors in Social Finance Inc., a private company that refinances student loans. Private lenders like Social Finance are banned from most of the direct student lending market; their lobbyists have already written to the Trump transition team pitching to change that. That’s only one potential conflict. What if her family has holdings in educational technology or for-profit colleges? Given time, the ethics office will learn this, and reach an agreement with Ms. DeVos to sell off assets that could pose a conflict.
If we truly want America to be great, we need to support robust education for all its citizens. Betsy Devos will not help our public schools: she will destroy them. Act now to stop her.
(H/T Romper for the scripting.)
A version of this post originally appeared at En Tequila Es Verdad.
