Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST: President Trump says he wants America's schools to reopen and quickly. He's undercut guidance from the CDC, calling it impractical. He's even threatened to cut funding for schools that don't reopen. And supporting this push is Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Here she is speaking last week at a meeting of the Coronavirus Task Force. (SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING) BETSY DEVOS: Ultimately, it's not a matter of if schools should reopen. It's simply a matter of how. They must fully open, and they must be fully operational. MCCAMMON: For more on DeVos' role in this pandemic, we're joined by NPR's Cory Turner, who's been covering her since she became secretary. Hi, Cory. CORY TURNER, BYLINE: Hello. MCCAMMON: So, Cory, let's recap. How did DeVos initially respond to this pandemic? TURNER: Yeah. So back in March, she seemed largely supportive of state and local school leaders' decision to close schools. To help, she waived

The new U.S. Department of Education guidance creates a federal process for individuals and organizations to file complaints under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Wednesday visited a Kentucky high school that is recovering from a 2018 shooting to award additional grant money meant to aid its recovery efforts.

U.S. Ed Secretary DeVos has approved plans for 46 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still waiting: California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Utah.

The latest approvals mean 12 of the 17 state plans submitted so far for Every Student Succeeds Act implementation have been given the federal go-ahead.

U.S. Ed Secretary DeVos has approved plans for 46 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still waiting: California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Utah.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos green-lighted California and Utah's plans to implement the Every Student Succeed Act. That means just one state is still waiting: Florida.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has greenlighted two more Every Student Succeeds Act plans from Virginia and South Carolina. That brings the grand total of states with approved plans to 39, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will hold a workforce event at a South Carolina drug manufacturer that employs hundreds of cash-strapped teachers in second jobs.

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has finally OK'd Florida's plan to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act. That means that single state, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, has gotten the go-ahead for its plan.

It's pretty obvious by now that many Democrats are growing increasingly uncomfortable supporting charter schools. But New Hampshire lawmakers have taken the unusual step of rejecting federal charter school grant money.

That brings the number of states with approved plans to 44, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still awaiting the OK: California, Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah

Minnesota and West Virginia are the first two states that submitted plans in the fall to win federal approval.

That brings the number of states with approved plans to 44, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still awaiting the OK: California, Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah

Terris Todd, a former teacher and school administrator in the Battle Creek, Mich., schools, is the ethnic vice chair of the Michigan Republican Party.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently spoke at Council of the Great City Schools annual legislative and policy conference in Washington, D.C. Here are some of her remarks.

The answer is unclear but "the threat is real," English-language-learner advocacy groups say. The advocates say the Education Department has evaded their questions about the future of the office of English-language acquisition.

As expected, the Education Department has delayed a rule that would require states to take a standardized approach in evaluating districts for minority bias in special education.

The selection of Lorena Orozco McElwain as director of the office of English language acquisition shakes up a long-standing tradition.

Innovations that schools developed during their rapid transition to online instruction could inspire them to "rethink education," U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said at a web conference with reporters.

Amid coronavirus-related school closures, advocates worry Education Secretary Betsy DeVos may waive requirements of special education law if Congress signs off. Schools say it's difficult to meet some requirements during the pandemic.

Congress should not grant flexibility from the federal special education law's key components due to the coronavirus pandemic, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has told federal lawmakers.

The new U.S. Department of Education guidance creates a federal process for individuals and organizations to file complaints under the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

Former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos discusses what a second Trump term could mean for U.S. education on "The Story with Martha MacCallum."

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says there is 'no reason' to waive main parts of the federal special education law.; Credit: Alex Brandon/AP

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will not recommend that Congress waive the main requirements of three federal education laws, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, known as IDEA. The federal law ensures that children with disabilities have a right to a free, appropriate public education whenever and wherever schools are operating.

When Congress passed the coronavirus relief package, known as the CARES act, they included a provision that allowed the Secretary to request waivers to parts of the special education law during the pandemic. The concern was that holding strictly to IDEA and other laws could hinder schools in the urgency to move schooling from the classroom setting to online and home-based approaches.

Th waiver provision, however, made disability advocates nervous. "We're talking about waiving a civil right for our most vulnerable people in our society, children who don't vote, who have no voice, who are relying on their parents to advocate for them," Stephanie Langer, a Florida civil rights attorney who focuses on education and disability, told NPR in March.

But the Education Department came to the conclusions that in general, big changes weren't needed. "While the Department has provided extensive flexibility to help schools transition," Devos said in a statement, "there is no reason for Congress to waive any provision designed to keep students learning."

While the bulk of the IDEA remains unchanged, Devos did issue limited waivers to a few sections of the law, including one that will extend the timeline schools have to offer services. The provision that bans discrimination based on disability status, will go untouched.

"This is truly a celebration," says Kelly Grillo, a special education coordinator in Indiana. "My teams are elated to keep IDEA intact. Waivers would seriously threaten equitable education."

As schools and learning have moved online, one of the biggest challenges has been providing special education. School districts were concerned they might get sued if their digital offerings couldn't meet the needs of their students with disabilities, though the Education Department issued guidance in March telling schools to be flexible, writing in a fact sheet that disability law, "should not prevent any school from offering educational programs through distance instruction."

Educators say that flexibility helped them improve their offerings for students. "This situation made us get creative and actually allowed us to have an all-hands-on-deck approach," says Grillo.

But advocates warn there are still areas to watch, including in New Jersey, where parents have been asked to waive their right to sue before districts are able to provide their children with special education services.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

; Credit: CSA-Archive/Getty Images

This week, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced that more than $300 million from the first coronavirus rescue package will go to two education grant competitions for K-12 and higher ed.

States will be able to apply for a piece of the $180 million allotted to the "Rethink K-12 Education Models Grant" and $127.5 million allotted to the "Reimagining Workforce Preparation Grant."

The money is 1% of the more than $30 billion set aside for education in the CARES Act. Those billions are intended to help states with the highest coronavirus burden.

States can access the money by creating proposals to fund virtual or work-based learning programs. The grant categories include two of DeVos' pre-existing pet policy ideas: "microgrants" that go directly to home-schooling families, and microcredentials that offer a shorter path to workforce preparation.

On the higher ed side, the secretary has long pushed for workforce-oriented education and shorter paths to a degree. She's been praised for this stance by online and for-profit colleges, while traditional institutions have been less sanguine.

Similarly, the secretary is a longtime advocate of alternatives to public schools, including home schooling. She has praised programs like Florida's Gardiner Scholarship, which provides up to $10,000 to the families of children with special needs to support home schooling. Last fall, DeVos proposed a $5 billion "Education Freedom Scholarship" program, which would have used federal tax credits to support, essentially, a voucher program that families could use both for private schools and home schooling.

While this week's announcement is significant for the policy directions it signals, it's a comparatively small amount of money. Education groups have asked the federal government for $200 billion (with a B) more in funds to maintain basic services.

This content is from Southern California Public Radio. View the original story at SCPR.org.

By Erica L. Green The New York Times Company…

http://www.musicxray.com/xrays/1319796 Kaina - devostated

WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday released a sweeping new directive governing how schools must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment, granting new rights to the accused and handing colleges a clear but controversial road map to navigating these highly charged investigations. The new rule bars universities from using a single official […]

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has issued the final version of a new rule governing how schools must handle allegations of sexual assault and harassment under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting sex discrimination in education. The new 2,033-page regulation increases privileges for students and faculty accused of assault and requires colleges to conduct live hearings to adjudicate allegations, a drastic change from the more survivor-friendly Obama-era policies. “This new regulation requires schools to act in meaningful ways to support survivors of sexual misconduct, without sacrificing important safeguards to ensure a fair and transparent process,” said DeVos in a statement. But women’s rights and survivor advocacy groups have condemned the rule changes since they were first proposed in 2018. They argue that the new rule unfairly favors those accused of assault, reduces schools’ responsibility for addressing harassment, and discourages survivors from coming forward. The regulation gives college students accused of assault the right to have representatives cross-examine their accusers in a live hearing, which advocacy organizations say will discourage survivors from coming forward. The regulation also reduces colleges’ responsibility to investigate allegations, only requiring investigations for complaints made to certain designated employees such as Title IX Coordinators, through a formal process. […]

In a rare bit of reasonable regulatory activity by the Trump administration, new rules governing sexual assault accusations at colleges strike the right balance -- for the most part.

U.S. Ed Secretary DeVos has approved plans for 46 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still waiting: California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Utah.

For those keeping score at home, DeVos has now approved ESSA plans for 34 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on Wednesday visited a Kentucky high school that is recovering from a 2018 shooting to award additional grant money meant to aid its recovery efforts.

U.S. Ed Secretary DeVos has approved plans for 46 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still waiting: California, Florida, Oklahoma, and Utah.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos railed against state constitutional prohibitions on public funds going to religious institutions in a speech to the Alfred E. Smith Foundation in New York City.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos green-lighted California and Utah's plans to implement the Every Student Succeed Act. That means just one state is still waiting: Florida.

Having failed to shape their states' Every Student Succeeds Act plans to their liking, elected officials in a a few places want the U.S. secretary of education to send the plans back or turn them down.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos will hold a workforce event at a South Carolina drug manufacturer that employs hundreds of cash-strapped teachers in second jobs.

It's pretty obvious by now that many Democrats are growing increasingly uncomfortable supporting charter schools. But New Hampshire lawmakers have taken the unusual step of rejecting federal charter school grant money.

Many state politicians and advocates used U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' recent feedback as an opportunity to attack their states' approach to the Every Student Succeeds Act.

Barbour, who served as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1993 to 1997, will serve as chairman of the National Assessment Governing Board for a term that lasts until Sept. 30, 2023.

The latest approvals mean 12 of the 17 state plans submitted so far for Every Student Succeeds Act implementation have been given the federal go-ahead.

That brings the number of states with approved plans to 44, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Still awaiting the OK: California, Florida, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Utah

After an investigation found Illinois schools put children in "isolated timeout" for illegal reasons, a group of the state's federal lawmakers have asked U.S. Secretary of Education to ban seclusion in schools nationwide.

U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos recently spoke at Council of the Great City Schools annual legislative and policy conference in Washington, D.C. Here are some of her remarks.

The answer is unclear but "the threat is real," English-language-learner advocacy groups say. The advocates say the Education Department has evaded their questions about the future of the office of English-language acquisition.