Betsy DeVos testifies on Education Department budget before House panel
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee on her department's fiscal year 2019 budget.
DeVos recently drew criticism for an interview on CBS News' "60 Minutes" for her struggle to answer questions about the quality of schools in her home state of Michigan, and that topic came up Tuesday.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisconsin, pressed DeVos on what she had told CBS News' Lesley Stahl earlier this month, that she had not visited schools that are underperforming. "Maybe you should," Stahl advised. "Maybe I should," DeVos agreed.
"As secretary, I have made a point of visiting schools," DeVos told Pocan, and she said she thought it would be important to visit some poor-performing schools. "The question is, will they let me in," she said Tuesday.
Pocan also complained that Wisconsin, which has 140 voucher schools, declines to release its scores, although they receive public funds. "Do you think it's right," Pocan asked DeVos.
While she declined to weigh in on Wisconsin's approach, DeVos replied, "Parents and taxpayers need to have more information, not less."
DeVos was also asked about the commission on school shootings that she is leading. She told the panel that it would consist of four cabinet secretaries, including herself, and she said they would meet with experts on the issue. DeVos expects that their first meeting will be within the next few weeks.
