Betsy DeVos vs. the Special Olympics

The latest cartoonishly evil headline to come out of the Trump administration involves Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ plan to cut funding for the Special Olympics. Is this actually true? Yes, and on Tuesday, lawmakers grilled DeVos over a budget proposal that includes over $7 billion in cuts to education programs, including several for those with special needs. The proposal eliminates all $18 million in federal funding for the Special Olympics, which is roughly a tenth of its total budget.

The most incisive line of questioning came from Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI), who began his allotted time by asking DeVos if she thinks it’s acceptable for a school to discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. DeVos refused to answer, only managing that “we have laws that cover discriminatory efforts.” When Pocan pressed her, she continued to demur. Pocan then pointed out that the budget provides money to charter schools that do discriminate.

Link to tweet

Though the “Is discrimination bad?” question may seem like a softball, DeVos has had trouble with it in the past. As the Washington Post point out, when she was asked in a Congressional hearing in May 2017 whether private schools that accept federal funding should be allowed to discriminate, DeVos said it should be left up to the states.

In January, Second Lady Karen Pence came under fire for accepting a teaching job at a school that explicitly bars LGBTQ students and faculty. Vice President Mike Pence called the criticism of their right to discriminate “deeply offensive to us.”

On Tuesday, Pocan asked DeVos why she wants to increase funding for charter schools despite their 25-percent failure rate. She didn’t answer. He asked about why she wants to slash funding for special education grants to states, the National Technical Institute for the Blind, Gallaudet University (a private university for hearing-impaired students), a federal program for print books for blind students and more. “What is it that we have a problem with children who are in special education?” Pocan asked. “Why are we cutting all of these programs over and over within this budget?

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/betsy-devos-special-olympics-813851/