Betsy DeVos Shifts School Choice, Privacy Offices at Education Department

Betsy DeVos Shifts School Choice, Privacy Offices at Education Department

by | Nov 28, 2018 | Betsy DeVos, commentary, Early Learning, Education Week, K12 Education, National, public schools, U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her team are moving forward with parts of a department-wide reorganization proposal unveiled earlier this year, including elevating the office charged with helping to advocate for the private school community within the federal bureaucracy, and changing the way privacy policy is handled.

The office of nonpublic education, which was previously part of the soon-to-be-defunct office of innovation and improvement, will now report directly to the office of the secretary. DeVos is a longtime advocate for vouchers, tax credit scholarships, and other forms of private school choice.

That move and other reorganization changes were first reported by Politico. Education Week logo

The remainder of the office of innovation and improvement will be moved to the broader office of elementary and secondary education, Education Week reported earlier this year.

DeVos is also planning to move the department’s budget office, which she has reportedly sought to eliminate, into a new office of finance and operations. That office’s other jobs will include finance, accounting, budgets, contract management, personnel, business data analysis and more.

And she will make changes to the way privacy policy is handled within the department. The department will continue to have a chief privacy officer, who will be housed in the office of the chief information officer. The chief privacy officer will be in charge of privacy legislation, privacy safeguards, and information collection and clearance. Subject matter experts in the family policy compliance office will provide student privacy technical assistance, and investigate Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act violations, said Elizabeth Hill, a spokeswoman for the agency.

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Trump’s 2019 Budget Proposal and Education: What to Watch

Trump’s 2019 Budget Proposal and Education: What to Watch

by | Feb 9, 2018 | Education Week, ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), K12 Education, President Donald Trump, Research, School Choice, STEM, US Department of Education

Education Week logoPresident Donald Trump is expected to release his latest federal spending wish list on Monday. And the U.S. Department of Education may not fare well.

The proposal could include a billion or two more in cuts than last year’s budget pitch, which sought to slash more than $9 billion from the department’s nearly $70 billion budget.

This is going to be a confusing year because Congress still hasn’t finalized last year’s spending plan, for fiscal year 2018, which started on Oct. 1 and generally impacts the 2018-19 school year. Congress recently passed legislation extending funding for all programs at fiscal year 2017 levels.

Trump’s newest proposal, though, will lay out his administration’s asks for fiscal year 2019, or the 2019-20 school year for most programs.

The president’s budget is almost always dead-on-arrival in Congress, which is already poised to reject many of the cuts Trump proposed last year, including getting rid of the $1.1 billion 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.

But budgets are a clear signal of the administration’s priorities. So what should you look for in this one? Here’s a quick rundown…

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Trump Taps Common-Core Foe Mick Zais for No. 2 Post at Ed. Dept.

Trump Taps Common-Core Foe Mick Zais for No. 2 Post at Ed. Dept.

by | Oct 4, 2017 | Betsy DeVos, ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), K12 Education, National, South Carolina, US Department of Education

President Donald Trump has tapped Mitchell “Mick” Zais, the former South Carolina chief state school officer and a vehement opponent of the Common Core State Standards, as deputy secretary, the number two position at the U.S. Department of Education.

Trump ran on getting rid of the common core—something he doesn’t have the power to do. But it’s hard to imagine Zais cheerleading the common core from his new post. As state chief in he tried to persuade South Carolina to dump the common core. And the state ultimately did shift to new standards, although it’s debatable how different they are from the common core. In 2014, Zais decided to pull South Carolina out of the Smarter Balanced testing consortia, one of two federally funded groups of states creating exams that align with the standards, even though the state board had just voted to remain in the consortium.

Zais was also a big-time supporter of school choice when he worked in the Palmetto State. He championed the expansion of charter schools and other school-choice programs, including a tax-credit scholarship program for special-needs students.

Zais will also fit right into U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ push for more local control. He elected not to compete in a special round of the Obama administration’s Race to the Top program that would have rewarded states, including South Carolina, that garnered high scores in earlier rounds but ultimately didn’t get funding.

His reason? “The Race to the Top program expands the federal role in education by offering pieces of silver in exchange for strings attached to Washington,” Zais said in a statement back in 2011. “More federal money for education will not solve our problems. Schools need less, not more, federal intrusion to increase student achievement.”

And during Zais’ tenure, South Carolina was hit with a $36 million penalty for making cuts to special education funding. Congress ultimately passed legislation that allowed the state to keep the money.

Before becoming state chief, Zais also served as the president of Newbery College in South Carolina. And he served for 31 in the U.S. Army, retiring with the rank of brigadier general.

Zais wasn’t DeVos’ first pick for the deputy secretary gig. The administration had originally hoped to nominate Al Hubbard, who worked on economic issues during both Bush administrations. But Hubbard had to drop out because it would have been too costly to untangle financial conflicts of interest.

Zais is the sixth person to be nominated to a top education department post.

DeVos was confirmed as secretary in February. Peter Oppenheim, a former aide to Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., is already serving as the assistant secretary in charge of congressional affairs.

And last week, the White House nominated Jim Blew, a veteran school choice advocate, as the assistant secretary for planning, evaluation, and policy. Meanwhile, Carlos Muñiz, who worked for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, is under consideration in the Senate to serve as the agency’s general counsel.

Nominee for Top Education Dept. Attorney: I’d Tell Officials to Follow ESSA

Nominee for Top Education Dept. Attorney: I’d Tell Officials to Follow ESSA

by | Sep 19, 2017 | Betsy DeVos, Congress, ESSA, Every Student Succeeds Act, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), K12 Education, Minnesota, National, Tennessee, Washington

Education Week — The nominee to be the U.S. Department of Education’s lead attorney, under questioning from the top Democrat for education in the Senate, said he would tell states and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to follow the Every Student Succeeds Act.

His statement follows comments from DeVos that states should push to get as much flexibility as possible under the law.

In his Tuesday confirmation hearing before the Senate education committee, Carlos Muñiz, an attorney in private practice who formerly worked for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, gave a narrow answer about ESSA oversight, telling Sen. Patty Murray of Washington that, “My advice to states would be to follow the law. … My job would be to advise her as to what the law requires, advise her as to what her discretion might be.”

During our exclusive Q&A with DeVos last week, the secretary said that under ESSA, “I’m encouraging states to do so and not to err on the side of caution, but to really push and go up to the line, test how far it takes to go over it.”

He took a similar line with Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who asked Muñiz if DeVos should follow ESSA’s clear prohibitions on the secretary’s role in issues such as state’s long-term academic goals. Muñiz responded that he would be “scrupulous” in advising officials to follow the law.

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., meanwhile, raised the issue of the Trump administration’s decision to scrap Obama-era guidance on transgender student rights in schools.

After Muñiz said he agreed with Franken that LGBT students deserve to go to school in a safe and respectful environment, the senator asked him if Trump met the expectations of LGBT students and their families when he scrapped that guidance.

Muñiz responded it was his understanding that the move was intended “to give the new administration the opportunity to study the law and study those issues.”

“The department has been clear that all students have a right to be free of sex discrimination in schools that receive federal funds,” Muñiz said.

During her own testimony to Congress, DeVos came under fire for how she described the responsibilities of private schools with respect to racial and sexual discrimination.

Few Nominees So Far

In prepared remarks before the committee, Muñiz said his previous work in Florida “have taught me the importance of the rule of law.”

And Muñiz also stressed that he would use his independent legal judgment at the department, telling senators, “My ultimate duty will be to the law, not to any individual or objective.”

Muñiz is just the second nominee for the Education Department to come before the Senate committee, following DeVos herself. Peter Oppenheim, a former aide to committee chairman Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., was confirmed as the department’s liaison to Congress earlier this year. Several key positions for K-12 at the department still do not have Senate-confimed appointees.