In response to Betsy DeVos’s virtual event in Alabama today, Democratic National Committee spokesperson John Weber released the following statement:

“More than ever, Alabama families deserve a president and secretary of education who will put students and teachers first. But, Donald Trump and Betsy DeVos have made clear that they have no plan to safely reopen our schools. They have ignored the CDC’s guidance and threatened to cut funding that schools need to keep kids safe. Working families deserve better, and this November, they’re going to vote to bring this chaos to an end.”

BACKGROUND ON TRUMP AND DEVOS’S BROKEN PROMISES

Promise: “We’ll fight for our great schools and we want to make them incredible. We want to make our schools really good.” [Trump Campaign Rally, 12/9/2016]

Reality: Betsy DeVos refused to say whether she could ensure that students, teachers, staff and parents would be safe from coronavirus when schools reopen.

Reality: Trump is pushing to weaken guidance for the safe reopening of schools and threatening to take away funding that schools say they will need to safely reopen.

Reality: After Congress passed emergency education funding to help public schools adjust to the pandemic, Betsy DeVos failed to quickly distribute the relief to schools that needed it. Instead, she withheld hundreds of millions of dollars from public school districts and funneled the relief to private companies. Now, Senate Republicans are refusing to take up legislation for additional relief funding for school districts.

Reality: Despite rising death tolls and record unemployment, DeVos has described the coronavirus pandemic as an “opportunity” to promote her disastrous agenda.

Reality: The Trump administration has failed to equip public schools to deal with the pandemic. Asked about the need for high-speed internet access, DeVos said distance learning can happen “in the woods behind your house.”