Editor’s note: U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos resigned from her post effective Jan. 8, 2021, saying there was “no mistaking” the impact that President Donald Trump’s rhetoric had on the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Here, five scholars offer their views on DeVos’ legacy at the federal agency she headed for four years.
Mark Hlavacik, associate professor of communication studies, University of North Texas:
In her resignation letter, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos explained that her sudden departure from the administration was motivated by President Donald Trump’s incendiary words to the crowd that went on to ransack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6.
SALT LAKE CITY A coalition of more than 40 national Latino groups is urging President-elect Joe Biden to appoint former National Education Association President Lily Eskelsen Garcia the next secretary of education.
A letter by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda obtained by KSL says Eskelsen Garcia is the ideal candidate to lead the U.S. Department of Education in a new direction from the previous destructive practices and policies of the Trump administration.
The letter touts her experience as a public school teacher, union leader and her long history of promoting equity and civil rights in schools. Prior to serving six years as the leader of the nation s largest teacher union and other NEA leadership positions, Eskelsen Garcia was president of the Utah Education Association and a Utah public school teacher.