Education Secretary Betsy DeVos likens school choice to picking phone carrier

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos at the Granite Technical Institute in South Salt Lake on Tuesday, May 9, 2017. | Photo courtesy of Ben Winslow, FOX 13 News, St. George News

SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pushed school choice and states’ rights in remarks at a tech-heavy education conference here.

“It’s time for us to break out of the confines of the federal government’s arcane approach to education,” DeVos said in her keynote address at the ASU+GSV summit at the Grand America Hotel.

DeVos promised the Trump administration would do more to empower states to make decisions on education. She name-dropped Apple, Uber and AirB&B, and questioned why education had to remain in the status-quo.

Referencing school choice and vouchers, the Education Secretary likened it to picking a phone carrier.

“The simple fact is that if a school is not meeting a child’s unique needs, then that school is failing that child,” she told the crowd. “Think of it like your cell phone. AT&T, Verizon T-mobile, they all have great networks, but if you can’t get cell phone service in your living room then that particular provider is failing you.”

Read the full story here:  Fox13Now.com.

Written by BEN WINSLOW, Fox13Now.com

Copyright © 2017, KSTU. A Tribune broadcasting station

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11 Comments

  • Craig May 10, 2017 at 6:54 am

    Nice analogy. This change is overdue

  • theone May 10, 2017 at 9:03 am

    Our education system is already a mess, and this delusional mindless wonder will make things worse. Giving States control only serves to an every man for himself calamity. Yes we need to repair our education, but having 50 different State by State approaches will create chaos, especially in States that would roll back science in favor of creationism. Just plain stupid to take that road.

    • 42214 May 10, 2017 at 4:20 pm

      You accuse the government of being , “Nothing but a joke anymore”. If you think that’s the case, why do you want the government to run public education over local authority.

      • theone May 11, 2017 at 10:17 am

        Because I think it’s a joke it stands to reason I believe it needs a swift adjustment back to serving the people. So yeah I believe in public education that is run on a rational premise. Betsy is delusional along with the whole lot of alt right nutter creationists.

        • 42214 May 11, 2017 at 12:39 pm

          “Rational” according to who? You? I hope not.

          • theone May 12, 2017 at 10:33 am

            Rational according to fact based learning, or is that over your head?

          • ladybugavenger May 12, 2017 at 7:07 pm

            What in the world is “fact based learning?” LOL who determines what the facts are?

          • 42214 May 13, 2017 at 9:50 am

            Theone is the self anoited possessor and purveyor of the facts. He/She throws out self-proclaimed “facts” as if they are undeniable. It is a weak and baseless style of debate. It is the cornerstone of a bloviating windbag.

  • Bubbasheepherder May 10, 2017 at 11:01 am

    I bet if you attached parent’s welfare checks to their kids’ performance in school the level of education would increase. With entitlements, I just don’t think parents or kids care nearly as much as they used to.

    • Anejo May 11, 2017 at 2:52 pm

      Same if you attached kids performance to politicians salaries. You’d see world class levels of education.

  • 42214 May 12, 2017 at 4:02 pm

    Theone, I must admit this is over my head. Please explain what you mean by “rational according to fact based learning.” This seems very interesting and I’d love to hear your explanation. I really think you have something valuable to offer us.

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