Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos – arguably the most controversial of Trump's Cabinet members – struggled to answer questions by correspondent Lesley Stahl in a CBS "60 Minutes" interview on Sunday night. During the interview, DeVos admitted she hasn't "intentionally visited schools that are underperforming."
DeVos, a billionaire and outspoken advocate for school choice which diverts taxpayer dollars for public education to other schools, including private religious-based schools, claimed studies reveal that school choice ultimately improves public schools. But when Stahl pressed DeVos on the state of public schools in the secretary's home state of Michigan, DeVos struggled to respond.
4/ DeVos' extended family has given to a variety of Christian and/or conservative causes, but religious education is most key: https://t.co/FnoWMiSMX9
pic.twitter.com/sxnIVvcHGc— Clara Jeffery (@ClaraJeffery) March 12, 2018
When asked if public schools in Michigan have gotten better as a result of school choice, DeVos responded, "I don't know," she said. "Overall, I… I can't say overall that they have all gotten better."
Furthermore, when Stahl questioned DeVos about the state of schools that are underperforming, Devos responded that she has intentionally not visited those schools.
"I have not.. I have not.. I have not intentionally visited schools that are underperforming," she said.
DeVos and her husband have reportedly invested millions of dollars in religious educational institutions, among other donations.
Read the transcript of the interview here.
