Mr. Doar good morning, everybody, and welcome to aei. My name is robert doar and im so pleased to have you all here this morning for this important discussion of education in the United States. We are particularly gratified and happy to have the secretary of education, betsy devos with us, her husband dick, couselor to the president Kellyanne Conway, a great honor to have them all here for this important discussion of a topic thats particularly important to aei and our education policy team. And were also pleased to have, i like to say that aei is a washingtonbased think tank, but were not a washingtonfocused think tank. And so we have three distinguished leaders around the country, from tennessee, arizona and pennsylvania, and they will talk about how some of the issues in washington affect the children and parents in those parts of the country, and really, thats what our discussion is all about. How can we make our schools better. Now, a little bit just to give a sense of how i come to this issue and look at it and why i think its so important. Some of you may know that i spent 20 years in the social Services Departments of new york state and new york city, working on antipoverty programs. Issuesas focused on the in the ways we help people get into work and out of poverty and move up economically. Personal responsibility, work, work supports, those things were important, but i always knew that there was another domain, another domain of activity that was equally important to our safety net programs. Maybe more important than our safety net programs in helping struggling families moving up and helping their children move up economically, and that was the world of education. And no one has done more, it seems to me, in expanding options and choices and fighting for giving parents and children the ability to make choices about their future and escape what i was, what i perceived in the city of new york and have perceived across the country failing Public Schools, than the current secretary of education, betsy devos. And so as i look at this and i think about this issue and think about the proposal that the secretary is going to talk about today, it seems to me, it is about just that, how do we provide options for families and children so they can make the choices they need to improve changes in the future. No issue is more important than helping families move up economically, and at aei thats the principal focus of our work. Economic opportunity for all. So i am particularly glad to have the secretary and her husband dick, theyre friends of aei, were honored to have you, thank you for being here. Thank you. [applause] ms. Devos well, thank you all, good morning. And thank you to aei for hosting this Important Forum today. Robert, thanks for your hospitality and for your principled conservative leadership, especially now in your new role. Its always a pleasure to be back here with so many friends. Our ideas are advanced by the work of this institute. There are many who have worked for the cause of education freedom and for our nations students, especially rick and nat. So im looking forward to our conversation today. Were here to talk about education freedom scholarships. Let me just say a few things about our proposal to set the table before our discussion. Here is what it is. A 5 billion annual federal income tax credit for voluntary contributions to 501 c3 nonprofit organizations that provide scholarships to students. The key element of the proposal is freedom. Freedom for everyone involved. Students, families, teachers, schools, states, any and all can choose to participate or they can elect not to participate. Thats what freedom is all about. We know gaining this freedom will require more work in some states than others, and certainly in that body up the hill. But as more states offer more options to families, demand will rise and pressure will mount on those who have not yet embraced the opportunity. Ultimately, freedom scholarships require only one thing, students and parents must be empowered to make decisions and choices. It should come as no surprise to anyone in this room why weve stepped forward with a bold transformative idea for students. American education isnt working for too many of them. Weve known this for more than 35 years. The devastating landmark report, a nation at risk, detailed the dire state of American Education and warned us all, and i quote, history is not kind to idlers. Well, if theres any word to describe too many parts of American Education today, its idle. Youve seen our nations report card. You know what i mean. Two and three of our nations 8th graders arent proficient in any core subject. Twothirds. We also know this, the United States ranks 24th in reading, 25th in science, and 40th in math in the world. Youve heard me talk about these results before, and i dont take any pleasure in reminding anyone about them. Yet there are many who Pay Lip Service to the sorry state of affairs in American Education, but offer more and more of the same as a solution. More spending, more regulation, more government. They assure us that this time it will work. This time it will be different. Yet, as its said in these halls, we are being mugged by reality daily. Thats why now is the time to do something different. Something better. Embrace the thing that makes america great, freedom. The freedom to learn, the freedom to grow, the freedom to rise, the freedom to pursue happiness. On this we can all agree, or at least we should be able to. So i remain dumbfounded that some conservatives who masquerade as education reformers have criticized this proposal. Who would have thought that ted cruz or i of all people would be accused of trying to grow the federal government. Think about that for a minute. You all know me. Ive fought alongside many of you for more than 30 years to expand the freedom of families and diminish the role of government in our lives. I wouldnt support anything that violates my principles or ours. So here is what our education freedom scholarship proposal doesnt do. It doesnt grow the government bureaucracy one tiny bit. It doesnt create a new Government Office of School Choice. It doesnt impose any it doesnt impose any new requirements on states or on families. It doesnt take a single dollar from Public School students, and it doesnt spend a single dollar of government money. And it doesnt entangle schools with federal strings or stifling red tape. In fact, it cant. And thats by design. The truth isr al ia highly efficient and effective way of funding education. It connects the dollars to the students, not the system. With no bureaucratic sponge in between. The education freedom scholarships are the conservative answer to what ails education in america. They also happen to be the answer that a super majority of parents, particularly africanamerican and hispanic parents are looking for. They are the reason education freedom is on the march from florida to pennsylvania, from illinois to arizona, and many places in between. Ive just come back from a tour across the midwest to highlight opportunities education freedom will provide. At every stop, i heard from students, families, teachers and local lawmakers about how education freedom is changing lives, but i also heard the loud voices of bullies who are threatened by that freedom. Now, its their right to demonstrate and to protest and to say sick things. What worries me though is the message theyre sending to parent and students. Big union bullying is flatout njust. Its unfair to the many students and parents who simply want better for themselves or their sons or their daughters. Ive been blessed to get to know many, many families who have exercised education freedom. Many have low incomes. Any are black or hispanic. Many are burning the candle at both ends to make ends meet and help their children have a better life. They arent antiPublic School or for privatization. They couldnt care less about how a school is legally structured or how the funds flow. They care about their kids. They care about them getting a great education. They care about them being safe. They care about how schools can help them prepare their children for successful careers and meaningful lives. On the other hand, union bosses dont put kids first. They dont put kids futures first. They put themselves first. Look no further than west irginia. Ny of you remember the first strike which kept students from learning for two weeks. The second strike is far more telling. There was already in place a eal for yet another pay raise. So why did union bosses force another strike . Because the bill would have also allowed for up to seven Charter Schools. And would have created esas for a very small number of families, maybe enough to satisfy or to serve less than one third of 1 , about a thousand of west virginias 300,000 students. This is clearly antiparent and antistudent. Ducation freedom is pro parent and pro student. Its not antiPublic School. If your school is working for your child, you can stay put. One parents freedom to make a choice doesnt mean you have to make a doesnt mean everyone else has to make the same choice. Education freedom isnt did elevating one type of school over another, its about trusting parents and believing in students. My mission is to unleash a new era of innovation and education to drive unprecedented achievement. It will happen in public and private schools alike. And we should embrace that. Our obligation isnt to any type of school, its to students. Americas students can lead the world because america must ontinue to lead the world. Its time we put them first and thats exactly what education freedom scholarships will do. Thank you, and i am looking forward to our conversation. [applause] thank you, madam secretary. That was terrific. Im rick hess director of policy studies at aei. We now have 35 minutes of conversation with the secretary and the pleasure of being joined by Kellyanne Conway senior counsellor to the United States. Thank you for joining us. All right. Madam secretary, you talked a bit about the education freedom scholarships, but wonder if first we could go a bit more into the nittygritty. So you mentioned that these complement existing programs in the states. What are those programs in the states . How does this complement those . Ow does this all work . Sec. Devos well, thanks again, rick for the opportunity to be here and kellianne, its great to see you and be here with you. So states can decide whether or not theyd want to participate in this program and there are many states today that actually have some kind of choice program. Most of them have public Charter Schools and many of them have private School Choice programs. What this proposal would do is be a booster to all of those programs. It could augment and expand existing programs or weve also encouraged people to think more broadly about what new creative ways they could use the funds that would come from the Tax Credit Program to help satisfy the need in their state. And i think about rural states in particular. Many times people will say, well, theres no you know, theres no way were going to have another building next to a rural high school. But i say, well, think differently about what choice an mean. What about students in that school, one of whom might want to study something that that school couldnt possibly offer. That school or that child, that student, could elect to take that course virtually from the finest teacher somewhere in the world. Or perhaps theres a handful of students in that school who learn differently, but dont have the opportunity to go somewhere else physically to school. Heres no reason they couldnt opt to have a microschool within their school that approached their education, their learning differently and allow them the right fit for them there. So theres no end to the ways to be creative to really implement choices for families and this is meant to really help jump start states that havent taken that leap, to encourage them to do that, not mandate it, and to augment states that already have taken that leap and want to continue to provide opportunities for students. So, counsellor, it sounds like were talking about more than private School Choice programs, more than Charter Schools. I hear the secretary talking about a variety of options. How does this work . Say a state already has some of these programs, who decides theyre there. How do they work . How does this money support this program . If Congress Enacts this law, how does it change anything in of this in states . Let me show the gratitude for anybody watching now or in the future. The secretary gave a very powerful set of opening remarks, i think touched upon many different aspects here and id like to amplify some of those after i answer this particular question. So in about 18 states they have programs and theyve obviously opted in. These are not red or blue politically. Theyre diverse. Everything from florida to arizona and illinois, as we have said. In these states, the way that these work federally you have a Scholarship Granting Organization and usually involves educators, education specialists, perhaps others could weigh in, but they have to approve of the formula. They have to approve of who or what whom or what would receive the actual moneys and what they would do with that. One thing that comes with the freedom the secretary has so eloquently spoken to this morning is flexibility. Nd one of the main points of appeal to me as a Public Policy practitioner, as somebody who works on behalf of the country and took an oath to the constitution and as a parent, is the flexibility to use those monies, certainly for the classroom and for traditional curriculum and structuring, for tutoring, for virtual learning, for needs that the educators may have identified in that area and that is really why, even though its a its on your federal tax form, the deduction you would take, the credit you would take, it doesnt release your tax liability, but it increases the optionality for the students in the states and with that freedom comes the flexibility. And i think thats incredibly important. So this does not disturb the state program. Its best practices that show, hey, this is working on a state by state level. Heyve been wildly successful. Its true if you build it they will come. Who has come . Any organizations because they figure if thre paying taxes anyway and get a tax credit and readily direct the money to scholarship granting students in their own states, and this is something thats been a priority for this president certainly the education freedom scholarships. Just the overall flexibility and the freedom agenda for education. The first time i met cory booker before he Held Public Office was in the Public Education space, manhattan or ewark, new jersey. Nd he was a groomsman and he was able to cross the wedding sle, but not the political aisle, unfortunately. And the secretary described it as dumbfounding. Its a lack of bipartisan on what is essentially a nonpartisan issue. We should put the kids first and education on criminal Justice Reform and i think the drug crisis. Every single democrat who voted for hr6, the most comprehensive piece in our history a year ago, every democrat voted in favor of this. We can do this when its as fundamental and nonpartisan in nature as giving people access to more treatment and more prevention and education when it comes to drugs, making sure people who have paid their debt to society are no longer languishing in prison and in this case, giving these children, these students more flexibility and freedom to learn and to prosper and to be economically independent. Lets stay with that for a second. Counsellor, you just mentioned the first step act, there was broad bipartisan support. Obviously weve not seen that thus far with regard to the education freedom scholarships. Whats the difference here . Why is it playing out for differently in the one education in criminal justice eform. Ms. Conway well both speak to that. The secretary futched upon the influence of the unions and she was remarking that the union bosses dont put the students first. That is true. And i would challenge and defy each of them to prove otherwise. What are they so afraid of . This doesnt take money away from the Public Schools, it just amplifies the number of and actually helps the Public Schools in that as the secretary said, maybe that cool already offers courses and resources that another institution of learning does not so perhaps theyll benefit as well from this. But i notice a lot, many of the folks who are against, who dont put the students first, also dont put their own children in the Public Schools. And that is a cruel irony lets just call it hypocrisy. Its past 9 a. M. And tuesday and congress is in recess. Its ironic, but hypocritical as well. So back to my point, where you have Elizabeth Warren of all people formally talking about the benefit of fully funded vouchers and all the freedom and flexibility that would wrought that could bring, that could deliver. The aforementioned cory booker, many, Many Democrats over the years. I remember working with senator Joe Lieberman and representative and pastor floyd flake on education reform in a bipartisan fashion in the congress 20 years ago and the only thing thats changed the only thing that changed is we have more students in need. I would challenge any of them to say this is a pure naked raw politics and that really is too unfortunate because we have an ntire generation suffering from the lack of bipartisan support, but hope springs eternal and maybe they will see whats happened in their own states, these 18 states and growing and what could happen if we just put it to the test of the federal level. Sec. Devos and i would just echo what kellianne said. Theyve had the expansion and inconceivable that we would be in a place where democrats resist and deny the benefit to students that freedom can provide and that opportunity for each to find their right fit would mean ultimately for our nation. So lets talk a bit about the scope of the proposal. Theres the figure 5 billion attached to it. How does that work . Is that is the anticipation there would be 5 billion a year in contributions . How would this be allocated across states . Sec. Devos so the yes, 5 billion annual fund that individuals or corporations would choose to voluntarily contribute a portion of their federal tax bill to one of these 501 is c3 organizations. So participation states would name the 501 c3s that receive them and if all 50 states participated, each state would get a portion of those funds as is designated by the title 2a formulation. So a combination of considercation of poverty and population and for those, if the states chose not to participate, those funds would go then to the ones that did choose to participate, and i think there would be a lot of a lot of pressure from internally from folks in the states that chose not to, to actually join in and provide those opportunities. And for states that already have programs, their 501 c3s would be grandfathered in so they would automatically participate and expand the programs and do something in addition if they wanted to. How big an increase would the 5 billion potentially represent to what states are currently seeing in their 501 c3 rograms compared to say, the state tuition Tax Credit Programs . Is this a big increase compared to whats already out there . Sec. Devos well, for all of the participating states. It would be a significant boost to what theyre doing today. And you know, the suggestion being that states ultimately want to and need to take this opportunity seriously and expand within their own state. But i think about the prospects for florida, which is the state that i often cite as the one thats most advanced in their providing freedom and opportunities for students. This would be a significant boost to and, in fact, ive heard from Governor Desantis regularly how important this would be to their efforts there. So if we combine, say, existing florida programs. How much do we know roughly how much that involves a year in terms of total dollars . Sec. Devos im trying to recall and im the mental math is not coming back as quickly as it should. But this would represent in concert with what theyre already doing, a very significant boost and would really help to satisfy the demand that they have thats built up around tens of thousands of students. Ms. Conway and lets talk about florida for a moment if we can. Obviously, former governor jeb bush was a huge proponent of alternatives to the conventional Public School system and is very popular for having accomplished that with the state legislature. In florida, whats going on right now is they basically saved money, as they have in pennsylvania. Pennsylvania saved about a half billion dollars. Its not about saving money, but its about repurposing the money to fit the needs of the students. Were not wearing green eye shades here and talking about education, but it does talk about how more efficiently and more targeted you can be with those resources. N florida, and i read the statistics, about 40 of africanamericans are the ecipients, 25 are hispanic. So youre talking about many different communities benefitting in the states where these scholarships, the funds are already available. And you also see people talking to other people in states, you know, relatives and friend and say why dont we have that here . You see the grass roots pressure among the parents and other stake holders in saying why dont we have that here . To the secretarys point. As they have with schools and charters, sort of going up the steps to state capitols and impressing on the leaders in their states to help with the programs. At the level that were happy to be big federalists who recognize this does not expand the federal role, role. I have to push back from the right, expanding the federal role in education, no. His actually allows the states and the local public the local School Systems and parents indeed to have more power and flexibility just by recognizing a tax credit on our federal tax forms. So lets stay with the mechanics of that a bit. I think it can help us think about these concerns about the federal role. How does this actually work . So, i think is this something that would exist in the u. S. Department of education . How would this actually operate . Sec. Devos it would just simply be a portalt treasury. So every state that chose to participate would submit the list of one or more 501 c3 organizations to be the scholarship granting recipient of and the federal tax funds and it would simply maintain the list. It would not create any new bureaucracy to administer it. The states really ultimately will administer, you know, indirectly the through the 501 is c3 entities, but it really is a vehicle and as i said, in my remarks, it is a very efficient and effective way to get Education Funding directly to the students that need it most. And really bypass a lot of ureaucratic sponge in between. And i think its so simple that it confounds people sometimes. Thats washington for you. What about a skeptic who says thats pretty good, but what about fraudulent 501 is c3s. What if theyre taking to the cleaners by somebody playing games . How does that work . Sec. Devos so the legislation requires that there be, you know, auditing of the organizations and of course, 501 c3s, first of all, have to be approved by the irs to exist in the first place and theres a requirement to 90 of the funds be distributed. No more than 10 be used in administration, but other than that, its a Pretty Simple approach and many states that actually have tax credit that, its a Pretty Simple approach and many states that actually have tax credit scholarship programs today have really good models for this. Its not like youd have to reinvent the wheel. Other states could look to those models and either emulate them or do something slightly different. But theres so many good models already in existence. This is a way for them to grow them in a meaningful way. Youve both alluded to concerns from the right about this getting washington, being washington overreach and getting washington too involved in education. Could you talk a bit more about that, given what youve just described, whats the nature of those concerns and where do you hink theyre getting it wrong . Ms. Conway well, those critics on the right are absolutely correct that the federal government is already way too involved in education. Nobodys going to disagree with that, including the secretary of education and the president and vicepresident of the United States. So thats a given. But theres so theres always a suspicion that once the government is way too intrusive. Invasive and expansive in education and many areas of our life that this would continue to open the flood gates. He criticism is illfounded. Respectfully, because this does not expand the federal role. It gives freedom and flexibility. If you look past people their stopping way too linear and constricted to say its federal tax form, its federal tax dollars. There are no strings to that. Hats why you have the seats to decide who should receive the monies and then how they should be distributed or let them decide how to use them. That is flexibility and freedom at its core and, but those concerns, i respect them. I disagree with them, but they also are relatively muted to a couple of restricted to just imited a couple of places. This has tremendous support among many conservatives and rank and file republicans, i would say, and also libertarians who look at the freedom agenda in our education system. Yeah, and i would discuss just add to that. Every major religious rganization that it deals with education, is supporting this proposal and as have many of the statebased allies, all of the statebased allies that have dealt with this issue on a state by state basis, they see the benefit of really having a vehicle for individuals to get funds directly to Scholarship Granting Organizations that will ultimately benefit students directly. Ms. Conway and the polling is there. I want to interject that, too. People say look at the polling, this is popular, this is not popular. The polling is irrefutable. Many americans, majority of americans including key demographic groups who would benefit from this, the appetite is there and the Public Opinion is there. The publics intent or mood, willingness to try something of this nature. Along with School Choice and charters and other alternatives. So for those who watch the polls and pretend that as poll numbers increase they must follow. Theyre just not doing this. And this is getting in the way of public appetite. This is a wonky room. Give us particulars out of the polling data that speak to you. Ms. Conway i have them there in that bag, i can grab them. So afraid to touch a womans hand bag. I know, nothing in there. [laughter] and i could grab them for you, but weve soon the polling data. We have vast majorities of hispanics, africanamericans, Public School mothers, saying that they support when its described in objective terms what this would provide and i want to describe to them, 18 other states have had it. This is whats happened to those states. More and more, i worked for many years i had a client, eva and her success charter etwork in new york beginning when she started those, she had just come back from a betsy devos type of conference out in jackson hole where they started heir enormous success. Why is it a success . She built it and the appetite grew and the buzz grew and then you had the labyrinthlike lines in the block and just to get a spot in the lottery, its random. They were hoping that chance would go their way so theyve had to increase. The other statistics i would tell you because i thought it was a clever poll that someone did. They actually asked people what would you do to improve education for your kids and over 60 say they would forego going out to eat for a year. Theyd forgo specialty coffee or caffeine for a year. God forbid. Ms. Conway im speaking to a privileged wonky audience in washington d. C. , but theyre saying, i would make the sacrifice if the benefit for my child were increased. Here were saying you dont have to make more of a sacrifice. Money will come to you by allowing this mechanism to be in place. Secretary, im curious, youve had an opportunity to speak to a lot of folks in the states and communities about this proposal. Im curious what struck you most. What doubts have you heard . Where have you found the warmest reception and what has stuck in your mind about it . Sec. Devos well, theres a really warm reception wherever ive talked about it and weve continued to convene leaders in states that many of whom are involved in this world already, but others who are sort of on the fringe and are skeptical, and the more we talk about the possibilities and the more we can help paint the picture for how it can specific how they could tailor some of their funds to their state to really meet needs in their particular state, i have to say the enthusiasm continues to grow and i think thats really part of the key is to really help people think more broadly about what this could mean for individual students, and in state specific environments. And i recent was in alaska and had the opportunity to go to one of the most remote villages there. Nd as i was there thinking about the challenges and the opportunities for students here, we talked about the fact hat what they have to deal with and what they and whats relevant to those students is very, very different than students as geographically dispersed as miami. You cant get much further away geographically in our country than between those two points. To think that we would try to impose from washington or anywhere else a solution that is going to answer the needs for those students in alaska, versus miami, florida suggests that we just havent learned our lesson over the last 50 years. You know, you both have alluded to this, im curious. I mean, weve certainly heard lots of proposals from our progressive friends that we need to spend more on schools. I can understand them saying this is only 5 billion we also need the triple water. Ut im curious why theres such dead set opposition which sound like an opportunity to put more money into schools and kids who need it. I would say it comes down to a matter of control. And those who have interest, selfinterest want to control the resources. They want to control everything around the resources, and they dont want to let parents have the kind and students have the kind of freedom that were talking put more money into schools and about because that means they ose control. But i look again at florida and how that environment in the last 20 years has changed for students across the state. And those who are in a Traditional School have realized and noticed the fact that as students make choices that are right for them, those students that remain in those Traditional Schools continue to do better and i would just reference the fact that in 40 years, since the department of education was founded, we have spent over 1 trillion at the federal level alone, trying to close the achievement gap. That achievement gap has not narrowed one bet. And so to suggest that doing more of the same thing is going to yield a different result is einsteins definition of insanity. We shouldnt do it, we should try something different. Ms. Conway were spending about 706 billion a year, i believe, in federal dollars, k through 12 to begin with. One of the more one of the points of consternation for me is how many of the democrats who are dead set against sadly this type of program, the education freedom scholarship, charter, works previously. Theyve shifted all the way to free college and forgiving college debt. Well, what are we doing about every single student who needs a quality education now who should not be constricted by their zip code or their parents economic status. Thats horrible and thats whats happening. And i think its almost objectscation in a different way and that we would have free college and thats not fair on so many levels, but mainly because every student deserves an education through the 12th grade. Thats their right. Whether they choose to go to college or want to go to college, thats different. Thats less than half the country and much will he is than half the states in some laces. Less than half of the states in some places. What about the funds that were talking about, rick and madam secretary, would go to technical and vocational, perhaps, would go to alternative college . And i work in the administration where we have emphasized that. In fact, when i was governor pences poll, the number one popular issue he was governing on was expanding vocational and technical opportunities, it was through the roof because not everybody is college material. Thats great. Go graduate high school, you walk this way and youre going to law school or college and a law school and i walk that way and im going to be the hair dresser the next day or a technician, 0 are a mechanic or work in the factory which now requires computer skills or be a welder. Go make 40 an hour the day after you graduate from high school, sounds pretty much. And were just not respecting the diversity of choices people make throughout their education post12 grade. And i think weve got we are in a movement here and having conversations here and now about helping them at the kindergarten level to thrive and to have a better education thats more responsive to them individually and to the 21st century. Madam secretary, youve oted on prior indications you said education is good spr for teachers. School of choice should be good for teachers. Square that for me. How is this for teacher making a difference for kids, why do you think they should be supportive of this proposal . Sec. Devos first of all, it will afford them many more opportunities to find their niche and their fit as a teacher. I have talked with hundreds of teachers across the country and i ask them regularly, what kinds of things do they need to feel valued and supported and what is the environment like for them . And almost to a person, i hear that, while compensation is important, what we really need and what we really want is to feel valued. To have autonomy, to make decisions in our classrooms on behalf of our students because ere the ones closest to them. And i think that in the attempt to try to make things better from a top down approach, much of their flexibility and autonomy has been taken away over the years and good teachers need to be unleashed to really be great at what they do. And commensurately, teachers who shouldnt be in the classroom who simply are a mismatch for, you know, for what theyre doing, probably should find a different vocation. And so, this i think this proposal will help teachers in a very fundamental way in that there will be alternatives, paths and alternatives, learning environmentals that may be a much better fit for them and will allow them to be compensated and recognized accordingly. For any of this to matter, obviously, this has to become law. And right now, as you both have noted several times today, d. C. Is a relatively polarized place. The parties have very different stances on this proposal. The white house and the house of representatives are in a onflict, shall we say. Whats the path forward for in to become law . Or this to happen . Well, you may want to ask them. I think the country is watching how they spend your time and your money. We all choose that in our personal lives how we spend our time and our money. They work for us, they dont seem to be here very often and when they are, theyre focused on other things and other people, places and things, i would say and thats unfortunate, but they work for you. So the question really for the country is, how do you want them to spend your time . Do you think this is a worthwhile piece of legislation to put forth and work through the committees. I would say what are you afraid of . If you want to vote against it vote against it. Give others an opportunity to get there. I think they are afraid of taking a negative vote that puts them at odds from millions of schoolchildren who would benefit from this. And the way they spend their time and Current Issues excepted, is remarkable for somebody who was in infrastructure meetings and worked on Health Care Every day, will be with the president in florida on thursday when he talks about medicare and Health Care Building blocks. What are we afraid of . In the process of actually pushing this forward in a bipartisan way, the way the way the back was the opioid and drug crisis were. You may just help that many more school children, either in your state or elsewhere. And this is the one where they truly have, i believe, partisan blinders on when it comes to educational freedom and i would say theres no excuse. Im not making a partisan comment. Im saying its disheartening and somewhat maddening it is particularly when theyre hypocritical. Saying im for the children. This is the fundamental right of every child to have a quality education that gives them a passport to the future and the dignity that goes with that. The last thing i would just say in this vein is the president wrote a book in 2000, where he talked about education freedom and he didnt call it education freedom scholarships, he was talking about alternatives, that there were failing kids in our educational system and in his first state of the union, if we put a man on the moon and dig out the panama canal and win two world wars we ought to be able to figure out a way to provide quality education to each student. Were ready at the white house and we can get him to sign that today, but we need real bip bipartisan and priorities to put the kids first. Madam secretary, what, you know, whats the strategy to kind of push on that . Your allies in the states, your colleagues, what would you encourage them to do . How do you try to get this ball rolling . Sec. Devos well, it is a matter of personal diplomacy and in many cases, you really do need to help paint the picture of what can be because the issue has become very polarized due to the opposition on the other side. But in the meetings that ive had in states, there is a real will to work with their articular delegation members and really urge the passage of his legislation. Kellyanne is absolutely right. The folks on capitol hill need to ask the hard questions how they can and why oppose this opportunity. All you need to do is spend time with one or more students that have had the opportunity to have their life trajectory changed and its very hard to make the argument not to support it. And i urge and encourage all of them to do so. I know theres a great resistance to that. Ut it is the right thing and i for those who have the opportunity, every member of congress had the opportunity for their children or grandchildren to go to the schools that they deem right for them. They should extend that same opportunity to every child and every family in thinks nation. All right, with that, lets go ahead and open it up for a few questions. We have a couple of colleagues coming around with microphones. I would ask when you get the mic identify yourself by name and affiliation and ask a question. If we get 10 or 15 seconds in and i dont see a question coming well give somebody else a shot. Ok. Es, sir. Thank you. Leon, thank you, secretary devos. My question is given the need for and support for a lifelong education, would this scholarships, would they be available for postsecondary, Higher Education and graduate school especially given the need for workers to be retrained as Senior Citizens in some cases, to enter new opportunities . Sec. Devos well, its a great question. This proposal is really focused on k12 education and for the states that actually wrap in prek to their k12 program. They could target that around preschool as well, but its really focused on the k12 years, but your point is a good one and we should really be looking at education as a life ong pursuit. There are some states that have implemented education savings accounts which of course, can be used to customize your education and if you dont use up all of the dollars in a year, you can roll it forward and arizona, for example, has an esa that if you still have a balance at the conclusion of your k12 years you can use it for Higher Education. States that participate in this may look at doing something similar. Thank you. Thank you very much. Im a student from Teachers College columbia university. Two short questions. A, we find theres a gap between the Academic Skills that you get in the school and the skills that are required at work. So the knowledge gap, how would you close the knowledge gap. Im personally a Chinese Student studying in the states, many say that the trade war has affected the visa, like i just wondered whats the standing point of the education of education during even the trade conflicts . Whats your standing point . Thank you so much. Sec. Devos your first question about closing the knowledge gap. Many of the schools that ive had opportunity to visit are approaching their education and learning differently for students and acknowledging that some of these gaps exist and theyre taking a different approach. Interject edom we into education across the country, i believe the more responses and different approaches well have to first of all acknowledging that and then addressing it, allowing students to find that right fit. But we do have a real challenge today because i think weve become too focused on one approach at the expense of really preparing students in a rapidly changing world for what omes next. My name is ye hann. Im first year at american university. Theres a lot of talk about funding, but as a student we dont see a lot of problems immediately solved before us. Like the problems of graduate unemployment or Mental Health in schools or stuff like that. What do you think is the largest problem in k12 and universities that cant be solved with more funding . Sec. Devos well, i think per this proposal, we dont have enough freedom in k12 education today, freedom or the families and students that arent able to make the choices that many who are wealthy and connected re able to make. And so it is a matter of really being fair to all students, not om fair, but allowing all students the vehicle and opportunity to find their right fit. We have we are as a country spending more than almost every country in the world on k12 education and yet, we still ank 24th, 25th and 40th in the measures around reading, science and math. So doing the same thing and putting more money behind it, and expecting a different result, i dont think that i know thats not going to solve he issue or the problem. Yeah, hi. Edward hutchens from the heartland institute. As you know, the Department Im sorry, the department of labor has recently, is going to issue new rulings on apprenticeship allowing private nonprofits as well as businesses to set up the requirements, etween the education, free market careers and exponential technology, as you know, groups like careerwise colorado are trying to connect kids in high schools with businesses to do the learn and earn. Would the freedom scholarships help facilitate this move to apprenticeships to allow the 2 3 of american who is dont go to college to actually get good careers in jobs. Sec. Devos yes, yes. Good. Sec. Devos yes, they could indeed to facilitate apprenticeships and in fact, thats an important opportunity for states to look at. Ms. Conway ill quickly say on apprenticeships and skilling and reskilling and the Work Force Development and 6 million plus or 7 million plus available jobs more than people looking for them, theres no question that were doing a hole of government approach. The departments of education and labor on top of it. Early on in this administration we invited cabinet secretaries and john hickenlooper, the then governor of colorado, and somehow has been forced out of the race because he is a twoterm successful governor of a swing state. Thats ok. Ironic. But i think the one that you mentioned in colorado is one of many examples that are popping up across the states because the market is necessitating that. I did want to make sure that we amplify today the value we see in after the k12 or during the 912, those acquiring a skill set, not just pushing everybody in college, you know, who has other employment opportunities, but this is something that weve been doing in a bipartisan basis with the states. Even if we cant get it done here. Although i think that ivanka trump has led the way with the perkens grant and some other measures. S you can see, what the secretary of education is laying out through the education freedom scholarships is just the latest and one of the greatest pieces of the overall education freedom agenda. We have been working on that for quite a while and i think its one of the bright line distinctions between us and the other side. Ok. One last question. Thank you. Caleb with the Freedom Center for academic freedom, thank you so much. As you can tell by the word freedom, i love the idea of freedom. But i have a question as you implement this. Have you considered or are there already measures in place that would protect, for xample, religious schools or religious nonprofits ability to have access to these funds . Sec. Devos great question and in fact, yes, the draft language does include a specific protection against religious discrimination and as its been said, religious discrimination is not a good policy so making that assumption, we have also been very explicit to say its not an option if states elect to be a part of this program. Terrific. Madam secretary, counsellor, thank you so much for your time today. [applause] i want to ask the audience to remain seated for a moment while we transition to the next panel. Thank you so much. Inaudible conversations] inaudible conversations] announcer cspans washington journal live every di with news and policy issues that impact you. Coming up wednesday morning, well discuss legal challenges to roev. Wade. And then former senior counselor to the whitewater investigation. And well talk about impeachment efforts and the whistleblower complaint against President Trump and also asylum see, when they reach the u. S. Mexico board. Watch live at 7 00 eastern wednesday morning. Join the discussion. Live wednesday on the cspan network. Speaker of the house nancy pelosi holds a News Conference and at 12 30 the council on Foreign Relations on the u. S. Policy toward syria and on cspan 2, a Washington Post cybersecurity summit from rmer secretary Michael Chertoff and james clapper. Well hear from author and Washington Post columnist bob woodward. And on cspan 3 at 12 30 eastern, the Federalist Society hosts legal scholars and journalists to preview the cases expected to come before the supreme court. On wednesday, Boris Johnson delivers the closing address at his partys conference in manchester, england. Atch live at 6 30 eastern on cspan 2. Listen on the cspan free radio app. Next, charlie cook in conversation with Radio Host Bill press. It took part in washington, d. C. Looking at key house and senate races in the upcoming elections. Good evening. Thank you, john. It is great to see you all and it is great to welcome our friends from cspan around the world tonight to the hill center. We know we have some stiff competition tonight because it is a playoff game for th
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