As negotiations over the next round of COVID-19 relief remained stalled on Capitol Hill, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Thursday that she鈥檚 hopeful the final package will include funding for two programs that would provide public funds and tax credits to allow families to send their children to private schools.
Those items were included in the most recent GOP bill, which failed to advance in the Senate last week.
Democrats have criticized DeVos鈥檚 efforts to direct new and existing relief funds to private school students. They鈥檝e pushed instead for more funding to shore up the budgets of struggling state and local governments. School administrators have said cuts at the state and local level could lead to teacher layoffs and elimination of educational programs.
Even as some members of Congress warned that a bipartisan compromise is not likely before the November presidential election, DeVos said she鈥檚 hopeful the school choice elements will remain in the final package.
As some schools struggle to provide adequate remote learning, parents have been open to alternatives, DeVos said, speaking during a virtual appearance at the Reagan Institute Summit on Education. She hopes that experience will make the public more receptive to policies like tax-credits to cover the cost of private school tuition, now and in the future.
鈥淲e know that, more than ever before, parents are aware of their children鈥檚 educational experience,鈥� DeVos said. 鈥淚 think there鈥檚 an awakening to this notion that we can鈥檛 have a one-size-fits-all approach. More and more parents, I believe, are going to insist they have the opportunity to choose what鈥檚 right for their children.鈥�
The most recent GOP proposal includes $105 billion for education. It would provide federal tax credits totaling up to $5 billion a year over the next two years for contributions to scholarships families could use to send their children to private schools or to purchase educational materials and services. It would authorize 鈥渆mergency education freedom grants,鈥� state-administered scholarships families could use for private school tuition or other services if their children鈥檚 education is interrupted by the pandemic. And the bill would allow families to use funds from tax-advantaged 529 savings plans, typically used to cover college or private school tuition, to pay for home-schooling expenses.
鈥淭he biggest thing standing in the way, frankly, are the teachers鈥� unions that have really dug in their heels and continued to insist that members of a certain party toe the line and continue the status quo,鈥� DeVos said.
National teachers unions have pushed for the Senate to , a bill approved by the Democratically controlled House in May. The Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions would create a $90 billion 鈥渟tate fiscal stabilization fund鈥� for the U.S. Department of Education to support K-12 and higher education. About 65 percent of that fund鈥攐r roughly $58 billion鈥攚ould go through states to local school districts. The bill would also provide $1 billion in aid to state and local governments.
Teachers unions have also criticized DeVos for efforts to channel relief funds to private schools, including through after it was struck down by a federal judge.
After DeVos criticized unions, school systems, and Democrats Thursday, one of her predecessors slammed the federal response to the pandemic.
Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who served under President Barack Obama, said school systems are 鈥渄oing heroic work at the local level鈥� by working to feed children and meet their needs during a national crisis. He said a lack of national direction and support had made the problem worse.
鈥淭he absence of leadership at the federal level has been devastating,鈥� Duncan said. 鈥淚t has cost thousands of thousands of lives and harmed children鈥檚 education.鈥�