About 1,000 protest Bellevue event attended by Betsy DeVos

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos was the keynote speaker at a sold-out event in Bellevue Friday night, and the controversial figure drew a swarm of protesters and counter protesers. 

About 1,000 protesters showed up in opposition to DeVos, KIRO 7 reports, and included the Equity in Education Coalition and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. The Seattle Times reports the Washington State Republican Party was expected to stage a counter-protest during the event.

To prepare for the crowd size, Bellevue Police announced Thursday that the department would shut down both directions of Bellevue Way between Northeast 8th to Northeast 10th Street — the busiest intersection in the city.

If you’re confused about why DeVos’ presence is stirring up so much controversy, here is a primer on the education secretary:

DeVos was confirmed as education secretary by the closest margin, ever.
DeVos was confirmed with a 51-50 margin by the Senate on Feb. 7, the closest nomination vote of any education secretary nominee. Vice President Mike Pence was forced to cast the tie-breaking vote, the first from a vice president in nearly a decade.

She is an advocate of charter schools and school vouchers.
DeVos is an outspoken advocate for school choice, which she has made a priority in her role as education secretary. She is especially focused on supporting charter schools, which are publicly funded, but privately operated programs that aim to provide parents and children an education option outside of public school.

While there can be benefits to charter schools, including smaller class sizes and more student-teacher interaction, they have been subject to a wave of criticism. Critiques range from a lack of organization and oversight to harming public school diversity. Critics also argue the schools divert taxpayer dollars away from public schools, which educate more than 90 percent of American children.

DeVos spent years advocating school choice reform in her home state of Michigan, where Chairman for the Michigan Democratic Party, Brandon Dillon, called her, “Public Enemy No. 1 for public schools.”

She is a polarizing figure.
With thousands expected to protest in Bellevue, this goes without saying. But DeVos’ push for charter schools and school vouchers is only part of the reason she upsets so many.

A multibillionaire, Devos and her family have contributed nearly $200 million to the Republican party, which has led Democratic leaders to question whether her aid factored into her nomination as education secretary.

Devos’ limited experience in public schools has also drawn ire. She attended private schools, sent her children to private school, and has never acted as a teacher, principal, or school board member. And while are many types of education, from homeschool to private religious academies, the vast majority of the Americans DeVos oversees are American families in the public school system. Unsurprisingly, many have been dismayed by the lack of knowledge of many public education policies she displayed during her controversial confirmation hearing.

During her hearing, she refused to agree that guns do not have a place in American schools. Asked whether she agreed with President Trump’s plan to ban gun-free school zones, DeVos replied simply, “I think that’s best left to locales and states to decide,” and now-famously reasoned that schools may need firearms to “protect from potential grizzlies.”

When Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) asked DeVos whether all schools that receive public funding should be required to meet requirements of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act – a federal law — DeVos again dodged the line of questioning, and responded, “I think that is a matter that is best left to the states.”

In September, DeVos rescinded a number of Title IX protections dealing with sexual assault on college campuses, drawing criticism from survivors and women’s’ rights groups.

She’s in Bellevue to speak about charter schools
DeVos will attend a dinner in Bellevue Friday as a keynote speaker for an event hosted by Washington’s Policy Center, along with FOX Business anchor Neil Cavuto. The sold-out event will be held at the Hyatt Regency hotel at 7:00 p.m.

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