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Betsy DeVos to Address American Federation for Children

By Alyson Klein — May 17, 2017 1 min read
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Next week will be old home week for U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. She’ll be addressing the American Federation for Children, a school choice advocacy organization that she chaired and helped to found before becoming secretary, at its national convention in choice-friendly Indianapolis, a source said.

DeVos could give the crowd further details on the Trump administration’s school choice proposal, which has been sketched out in budget documents and includes a new private school program, more money for charters, and a proposal to allow some federal funding to follow students to the school of their choice. More here.

The Trump administration is also said to be exploring a federal tax credit scholarship program, similar to the state programs in Florida and elsewhere.

At last year’s gathering near Washington, D.C., DeVos, then the chairwoman of the group, sounded similar themes to the ones she’s hit as secretary.

“It’s no surprise that we get together, there are rumors of protest and predictable rhetoric from the education establishment,” she said in that 2016 speech. “The reason we gather is really quite simple, we want our children to be the best educated in the world. The problem is, and we all know this, the system is broken and too many children are missing out. School choice is the pathway for more children to get the education they deserve. ... We fight for the kids who don’t fit in. For the kids who don’t conform to the one-size fits all system.”

You can watch the full speech below:

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