Add your name: Block the appointment of Betsy DeVos

Will you sign and share the petition asking your senator to vote NO on Betsy DeVos?

Dear MoveOn member,

The pressure to stop Trump's billionaire nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, from being confirmed is working. Two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, just announced that they will oppose DeVos' confirmation.¹

That means that we’re just ONE senator short—and that DeVos could be the first Trump nominee to be rejected by the Senate. But we need to keep up the pressure now more than ever to sway one more Republican and to hold the position of all of the senators who have announced opposition to DeVos. Will you sign and share this petition asking your senator to vote NO on Betsy DeVos? Click here.

Donald Trump's nominee for secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, has no experience in public education, supports privatizing education, and has no stated opinion on America's student debt crisis. Demand that the Senate vote no on Betsy DeVos for secretary of education.

Betsy DeVos—Donald Trump's out-of-touch billionaire pick for secretary of education—is far more interested in dismantling our schools than in investing in them, and in demonizing teachers rather than treating them as allies in educating our children.

And, during her confirmation vote on January 17, DeVos horrifically suggested that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—which guarantees students with disabilities access to a free and appropriate education—should not be federally enforceable.²

But the good news is that there is a growing movement to oppose her nomination, and we now have a little more time to publicize just how dangerous she is.

We have an important opportunity right now to rally against this terrible nominee for secretary of education. Will you sign and share the petition asking your senator to vote NO on Betsy DeVos? Click here to sign.

DeVos' nomination continues a concerning pattern of Trump choosing wealthy, unqualified individuals for high-level positions in the federal government. Her track record speaks for itself:

• She has zero experience in public education. Almost all previous education secretaries had career experience in the field of education where they learned the skills necessary to improve schools in our communities. Betsy DeVos has none.³
• She has made no mention of the student debt crisis. She is doesn't know how everyday people are impacted by student loan debt and continues to ignore the trillion dollar problem. In fact, "little is known about her views on federal higher education policy," and she has little to no experience working with families who struggle to afford the rising cost of college.^4,5
• She made her career advocating for taxpayer dollars to be taken away from resource-starved public schools. In fact, she wants to funnel your money into the pockets of private and for-profit education companies through voucher systems and charter schools.⁶

Her attacks on public schools and support for privatized education disproportionately impacts people of color and LGBTQ students, meaning less equal opportunities for ALL students nationwide.

If you support public education, investing in our local schools, and ending America's student debt crisis, DEMAND that the Senate vote no on Betsy DeVos for education secretary.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

Thanks!

—Natalia Abrams, Student Debt Crisis

Sources:

1. "Second Republican senator to vote against DeVos," The Hill, February 1, 2017
http://act.moveon.org/go/7998?t=6&akid=177405.10220574.5UurVl

2. "DeVos says she will protect students with disabilities, but advocates aren’t convinced," The Washington Post, January 26, 2017
https://act.moveon.org/go/7852?t=8&akid=177405.10220574.5UurVl

3. "Trump picks billionaire Betsy DeVos, school voucher advocate, as education secretary," The Washington Post, November 23, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/6995?t=10&akid=177405.10220574.5UurVl

4. "What Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary could mean for student debt," MarketWatch, November 23, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/6996?t=12&akid=177405.10220574.5UurVl

5. "Trump Picks Betsy DeVos as education secretary," Inside Higher Ed, November 23, 2016
https://act.moveon.org/go/6998?t=14&akid=177405.10220574.5UurVl

6. "Betsy DeVos, Trump’s Education Pick, Has Steered Money From Public Schools," The New York Times, November 23, 2016
http://act.moveon.org/go/6997?t=16&akid=177405.10220574.5UurVl

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