Betsy DeVos resigned last week.
You can read her resignation letter here (courtesy: Politico):
Let us not be confused. While it is fun to say #ByeBetsy, it is not #goals.
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The 1033 program is still there;
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The Federal School Discipline Guidance is still rescinded;
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Millions of students nationwide still can’t log in to school;
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There are still more cops than counselors in our nation’s schools;
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Indigenous histories are still not taught in our nation’s schools;
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Not to mention Black History…
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School buildings across the country will neither get warm in the winter nor cool in the summer;
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There still aren’t enough non-white teachers;
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And curriculums are still so damn white.
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Books cost too damn much;
- Rural students, as well as students with disabilities continue to exist more on the margins of education policy;
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Military spending will still far outpace Education spending;
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Zip Codes will still enshrine and ensure education inequality;
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Teachers across the nation still have to purchase their own PPE;
- Every student still can’t access the internet or instruction;
This list doesn’t even begin to be exhaustive.
If one thing is clear from her resignation letter, it is the cowardice, hypocrisy, and complicity of the former Education Secretary. DeVos amplified destructive tendencies under the guise of ‘efficiency’, ‘choice’ and ‘support’, but her tenure was by no means an aberration for Black, Brown, poor and working-class communities. Far from it.
Shame is not a relevant tool in this case, for one would have to presume that the accused actually cared about the impact of her work. Though she has resigned, we can’t let DeVos go out on her (or mainstream media’s) own terms, she’s done far too much damage to merely fade to the periphery of the tail end of an imploding presidency.
Our work and our goals remain the same. As a national coalition, we partner with grassroots organizations to win alternatives to a culture of zero-tolerance, dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, stop the privatization of public schools, and to fight racism and all forms of oppression. We bring together our members through direct action organizing, public policy advocacy, and leadership development to fight for the human right of every young person to a quality education and to be treated with dignity.
For more on this, check out our latest webinar Secretary of Education for Whom?
#GoneButNotForgotten
#GoodRiddanceBetsy
#DignityinSchools
