Conversation with him live sunday at noon eastern on book tvs in depth on cspan2. Detroit news reported this week that some faculty and students at Michigan StateUniversity Want the schools president to rescind an invitation for education secretary betsy devos to speak at the grand opening of the universitys grand rapids at Research Center later this month. They say she has an enemy of Public Education. Secretary devos is scheduled to speak september 20. How to fund education, the Education Department, and federal programs in 2018 is pending before congress. Here is an update. President trump has requested 1. 1 trillion dollars and his 2018 federal budget. Of that, the president would like the Education Department to receive 59 billion. That is a cut from 2017. This is just a guideline. Congress gets to decide with what the final number is. Joining us from politico is caitlin emma. With the nearly 14 cut in Education Funding by the president , which programs would be affected . President trumps budget has gotten a lot of criticism for targeting these programs that provide billions of dollars in federal funding for Public School programs. At the same time, he supposed a proposed a investment in School Choice, which is the expansion of Charter Schools, private schools, and even choice among Public Schools. Some of the programs targeted, that has stirred up a lot of controversy, include more than 2 billion in federal funding for teacher training and classroom science reduction. It is a Popular Program, but traditionally studies about this program have showed mixed results. It is on the chopping block. Proposed elimination of more trump also than 1 billion in federal funding for Afterschool Programs, which generated a lot of controversy in his budget first came out. You even saw congressman like Republican Lou Barletta saying this is a bad idea. You cannot cut these funds for Afterschool Programs. In general, republicans have shown sooner a hesitancy to back some of these cuts. Earlier this year we saw the , republican senator, chairman of the Appropriations Committee tell secretary devos that his budget for education is hard to defend. We have seen giant cuts to these Public School programs. Budget notably included small cuts to federal special educations funding. Those programs are the largest of the federal Education Funding. That is also indefensible for a lot of people, who even support his agenda. On Charter Schools and Charter School vouchers pushed by this administration, how do , they work and why are they seen as controversial . Been seen as very controversial since Trump Took Office and sent betsy devos wasnt nominated because a lot of people see them as funding options, expanding options for students who already have means while at the same time taking away of funding for Public Schools. His budget in the eyes of many effectively does that. He targets a lot of funding that would flow to Public Schools, while at the same time looking to expand Charter Schools, access to private schools. For many, that is indefensible. At the same time, we have seen secretary devos and President Trump very supportive of private School Options like vouchers, which are eventually public funds that flow directly to low income students and students with special needs so they can attend private school. There are other options as well, which are a workaround that very direct flow of public funds to private schools. They are called education savings accounts or scholarship programs. A number of states around the country have these programs and they work very well. On the campaign trail, trump pledged 20 billion to expanding school of choice. It becomes a big part of his agenda that he has yet to fulfill. He tried to do that in a small way through budget requests, with 1. 4 billion toward school of choice. What is the workaround for this administration . There is some talk that they could try to push target school Charter School initiatives through tax reform. What we are seeing from health appropriators right now, budget and the 1. 4 billion that was allocated, 1 billion of it was to the expansion of Public School of choice. That would mean you have your Traditional School district, and it would mean dissolving those Traditional School district borders and allowing students from another district to attend Public School and maybe a district that is far away from them, but that family feels that Public School in another district is better for them. Thus 1 billion was allocated , for that in trumps budget. He also notably funded Charter School expansion at 5 million. That was a fairly significant increase to that program. For thed 250 million expansion of private school of choice. They have largely ignored everything but the Charter School funding request, which they bumped up a little bit, about 28 million extra went to Charter Schools in a recent move by house appropriators. For the most part, they have ignored trumps school of choice budget request. Now what folks are looking towards is tax reform. A lot of groups are supportive of School Choice. Betsy to cut costs betsy devos is included in that. They are looking to see how they can push the recreation of a federal Tax Credit Program through tax reform. It remains to be seen whether this will happen. The white house has not gotten behind a plan yet. Theres a lot of speculation as to whether it will happen at all. It would essentially allow individuals and businesses to make a donation to an entity that awards scholarships to low income students and workingclass families to pay for private school. In return, they would receive some kind of tax credit. Groups that are supportive, groups that devos has been affiliated with that a lot of time that support it really wanted and are pushing for it. The white house is yet to publicly get behind the plan. As you know, tax reform is up in the air. It is a huge lift. It remains to be seen what will happen there. We started this conversation and we noted the president asked for 59 billion for the Education Department. What will be the final number from housesenate appropriators . What we saw from health appropriators earlier this year, the Trump Administration saw almost a 14 cut to the department of education, which is big. What was all from house appropriators this year was about a 3. 5 cut. The Afterschool Program funding that i mentioned earlier, the left that pretty much intact. Off took about 200 million of that, but kept it at about a billion dollars, which is a very Popular Program and popular for lawmakers to take back home to their districts. That is one example of how health appropriators thought we could not cut Something Like this. I think it would stand to reason that we will see the senate do more of the same. I mentioned the elimination earlier of teacher training funds. The house notably also eliminated that program. It was very disappointing for people who rely on those programs, who see that as a trainr program to help teachers and principals it is and reduce class sizes. Possible the senate will not choose to eliminate that. I dont think they will jump on President Trump school of choice. They may be more sympathetic to programs that provide funding to Public Schools. I do not think the president will see the major cut that he originally wanted to. Caitlin emma, thank you very much. Thank you. Since the unveiling and may, in may, betsy devos has defended the request. Here she is, appearing before the House Appropriations subcommittee on education. Sec. Devos thank you mr. Chairman. Thank you for this opportunity to testify on behalf of the administrations Budget Proposal for fiscal year 2018. I look forward to talking about how we can Work Together to improve Educational Opportunities and outcomes for all students, while also refocusing the federal role in education. While todays hearing is set to focus on the numbers and mechanics of the budget, i hope we will all remember our goal and purpose, how to best serve americas students. Allow me to share just one example. I recently met a young man, michael, whose story truly spoke to me. Michael grubb in east hartford, connecticut in a low income neighborhood. He was an average student throughout elementary and middle school. All that changed when he reached the district high school. Michael described the school as one where the students were in charge of the class and they would make it impossible for the teacher to teach. He was constantly bullied to the point he was even afraid to go to the bathroom. This constant fear made him hate school. He described school as nothing more than adult day care, a dangerous day care. Even though he was failing classes, the school simply passed him along from him deesear, giving and setting and notsosubtle message that they did not think michael would amount to much. Michael got a diploma, but not an education. Michael followed the path he thought he was destined for, working at a low skill, lowwage job. The encouragement of his wife, he took a course at the local Community College to see what was possible for him. He found an environment invested in his success. Much to his surprise, michael r and and a. He thought it was a fluke so he took more classes. He is now in the schools Honors Program with the goal as working as an emergency room nurse. Success is americas success. Access to a quality education is the path to the american dream. Michael and keep countless other students like him in mind as we go to work to support americas students. No student should feel they attend a dangerous day care. No childs dream should be limited by the quality or lack thereof of the education they receive. This budget lays out a series of proposals and priorities working toward ensuring every student has an equal opportunity to receive a great education. It focuses on returning session making and flexibility to the states where it belongs and giving parents more control over their childs education. Parents deserve that right, and that right has been denied for too long. We cannot allow any pair to feel their child is trapped in a school that is not meeting their unique needs. The budget also reflects a series of tough choices. If task pair money were limitless, we would not need a budget if taxpayer money were limitless, we would not need a budget at all. It reflects the difficulty in how to best appropriate the limited tax dollars we have. This budget does so by putting an emphasis on programs proven to help students while taking a hard look at programs that are well intended but simply have not yielded meaningful results. This is why the president s 2018 budget would reduce funding by 13 . Ive seen the headlines and understand those figures may sound alarming for some. However, this budget refocuses the department on supporting states and School Districts in their efforts to provide highquality education for all of our students. At the same time, the budget simplifies funding for college while continuing to help make a Higher Education more accessible to all. I would like to outline the principles that guided our decisionmaking. First, our request to give significant resources toward giving every student and equal opportunity for a great education. It emphasizes giving parents more power and students more second, the administrations opportunities. Request recognizes the importance of maintaining strong support for Public Schools through longstanding state formula Grant Programs focused on meeting the Educational Needs of the nations most formidable third, our request maintains key competitive Grant Programs that support innovation and what works in education. This means support for data and Research Collection activities for the department. Fourth, reducing the complexity of college will making it accessible to low income students. As congress for paris to reauthorize the Higher Education act, i look forward to working with you to address student debt and costs while accelerating student completion rates through such efforts as yearround pal and Student Financial aid. This, consistent with our commitment to improve the efficiency of the federal government, our request would eliminate or phase out 22 programs that are duplicates of, ineffective, or are at are supported through state efforts. Six additional programs were already eliminated in the reauthorization of the elementary and secondary education act. All told taxpayers will save , 5. 8 billion. In total, the president s budget fulfills his promise to place it in the hands of parents and families. It refocuses the department and their efforts to provide highquality education to all of our students. Research shows that increasing education options can have positive effects on student generally, and an even greater impact on poor and minority students. If we truly want to provide better education to underserved communities, then we must start with giving parents and the students the power to select highquality schools that meet their needs. Ofwant to unleash a new era ingenuity and opportunity in the education space. My hope is that working in concert with each of you, we can make education in america the envy of the rest of the world. Thank you again for the opportunity to share the administrations vision for improving education across the country. I look forward to responding to your questions. The administrations puts for School Choice at spansion came up repeatedly. Here what lawmakers had to say to education secretary betsy devos on the topic. Thank you mr. Chairman. As you have heard, i am extremely disappointed that your budget proposes to take funding from Public Education and transfer it to private schools. In my judgment, we need to increase the resources. The federal government provides 9 of resources for Public Schools. Most of it comes from state and local taxes. What we have to do is increase resources for Public Schools, not put an increased burden on the state and local. Again, we need to continue to Work Together to improve them, not diminish them. So i think it is imperative that this committee and the American People really understand just what this proposal would do. A couple quick questions. You can just answer yes or no. Under your proposal, the student with disabilities receiving a voucher for a private school have Due Process Rights under ide a . Sec. Devos thank you for the question and thank you for being here today. Before responding yes or no, let me address one of the things you said earlier about shifting funding. We are not proposing any shifting of funding from Public Schools to private schools. All the proposal set forth in the budget continue to fully fund and commit to funding Public Schools as we have. I want to make sure that we are very clear on that. If we are misunderstanding number somehow, lets talk about that. Are you talking about vouchers . Who is paying for the vouchers . Sec. Devos funds in the budget are consistent. They are title i funds and they are consistent. This is clearly a misunderstanding. Maybe at another time we could talk about that . If youre funding with vouchers, perhaps the money is coming from some place and there is an overall cut. Sec. Devos there is a proposal for a 250 Million Investment in the innovation portion of the budget that would help fund some pilot test programs around school of choice. Vouchers,talks about but what we also have to understand is vouchers are but one mechanism. It does not prescribe a method or mechanism that remains to be discussed and decided upon. We will have to continue this discussion. I would be interested in whether the private school would be held to the same performance standards as Public School