Betsy DeVos may be the nation’s most ardent advocate for school choice. Mrs. DeVos believes that the traditional public school system would benefit if parents had more input into the types of subjects being taught, and if the current model of classroom education were expanded to include more experiential types of learning.
What School Choices Should Be Made Available?
Educational choice is a subject that is very close to Betsy DeVos’s heart. Mrs. DeVos’s own mother worked as a teacher in the Holland, Michigan public school system, and as a young wife and mother, Mrs. DeVos herself spent time volunteering as a mentor for at-risk youth in Grand Rapids public schools.
Betsy DeVos would like to give parents a choice among several educational models:
- Traditional public schools: There are more than 90,000 traditional public schools in the U.S. today. Curricula are set by local boards in conjunction with strict standards developed by each state’s Department of Education. The schools are funded through a combination of local property taxes, and federal and state grants.
- Public charter schools: Nearly 7,000 public charter schools were operating in this country as of April, 2018. The schools are funded through the same channels that traditional public schools are funded. Their curricula are determined by each school’s specific charter. These charters must be approved by the state.
- Private schools: Private schools are funded through the tuition fees paid by each individual student. Curricula are set by each school’s individual charter.
- Homeschooling: Homeschooling, as its name implies, takes place at a child’s home. Parents serve as teachers. A homeschooled child must meet certain educational milestones as defined by the state, but beyond that, parents are free to meet what they’ve identified as the learning needs of their offspring.
Funding for Educational Choice
Betsy DeVos believes parents ought to have access to publicly funded options for their children no matter what educational model they choose. Mrs. DeVos is an outspoken supporter of vouchers, tax credits, education savings accounts and other mechanisms that make it easier for parents to exercise their freedom of choice.
When Betsy DeVos homeschooled two of her own children, she became a part of Michigan’s homeschooling community. This allowed her to observe firsthand the difficulties low-income parents experienced when they tried to choose nontraditional educational models. This struck Mrs. DeVos as very unfair, and it’s one of the reasons why she is such a committed proponent of tax-credit scholarships and school vouchers.
Visit http://www.betsydevos.com/ to learn more.
