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Here are news and opinion stories educators, advocates, policy wonks and makers are talking about today:
News and Analysis
National
What Betsy DeVos Did (and Didn’t) Reveal About Her Education Priorities
Donald Trump advocated on the campaign trail for a $20 billion federal school-voucher program. But during her confirmation hearing on Tuesday evening, Betsy DeVos, the president-elect’s choice to lead the U.S. Education Department, said school choice should be a state decision. She framed school choice as a right for students and families. And she said during the hearing that she was committed to strengthening public education for all students. (The Atlantic)
Betsy DeVos’s Education Hearing Erupts Into Partisan Debate
WASHINGTON — At her confirmation hearing on Tuesday to be education secretary, Betsy DeVos vigorously defended her work steering taxpayer dollars from traditional public schools, arguing that it was time to move away from a “one size fits all” system and toward newer models for students from preschool to college. (The New York Times)
DeVos: Won’t Dismantle Public Schools as Education Secretary
In a sometimes contentious confirmation hearing, education secretary pick Betsy DeVos pledged that she would not seek to dismantle public schools amid questions by Democrats about her qualifications, political donations and long-time work advocating for charter schools and school choice. (ABC News)
States
Georgia
Her father desegregated America’s public schools. Now, she champions charter schools.
Cheryl Brown Henderson, whose father Oliver Brown was the leading plaintiff in Brown v. Board of Education, writes today about the value of charter schools and how school choice relates to her father’s legacy. She is the founding president and CEO of the Brown Foundation for Educational Equity, Excellence and Research and on the board of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. (The Atlanta Journal Constitution)
New York
City’s AP exam passing rates show gains, especially for black and Hispanic students
New York City students are taking and passing Advanced Placement courses at a higher rate than ever before, according to data released Tuesday by the city’s Department of Education. The number of students taking at least one AP exam in 2016 rose by nearly 3,500 students citywide, and over 1,800 more students passed an AP exam in 2016 than in the previous year. (Chalkbeat)