News you need to knowSecretary of Education Betsy DeVos has been quietly getting away with gutting the Education Department because we’ve all been focused on Trump and Russia.
Why this is not normalWithin her first 100 days of being in office, Betsy DeVos has assisted Trump in getting rid of transgender bathroom protections in schools, she’s alienated historically black colleges, stripped accountability with the Every Student Succeed Act, ended a $12 million program that promoted socioeconomic diversity within schools, and assisted Trump in creating a proposed 13 percent budget cut to the Education Department. This budget cut would eliminate teacher training grants, grants to help low-income students pay for school, and reduces funding for the Pell Grant and federal work study.
Finally, DeVos, a woman worth $5.1 billion who has never had to take a school loan out in her life – who makes more in daily interest than you could dream of making in a year – wants to end student loan forgiveness for public sector and nonprofit workers. As the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program works now, if a person works for 10 years for the government or a nonprofit employer, their student loans are forgiven. It was a program meant to encourage people to go into the traditionally low-paying fields of civil service.
Guess public service isn’t at the forefront of President Trump and Secretary DeVos’ plan for America.
Patty TempletonDGO Staff Writer
