Tell Congress: Support the Students Not Profits Act 2019

The petition to Congress reads: "Support the Students Not Profits Act of 2019 to make sure for-profit colleges don't get federal aid to exploit and undereducate students." Add your name:

For-profit colleges lie to students and leave them deeply in debt. They have been repeatedly caught promising a great education and career success in order to suck tuition dollars out of students and taxpayers. Some for-profit college campuses have gone as far as bribing local temp agencies to hire graduates for a day or two in order to artificially inflate “job placement” rates.1 But despite their grifter status, these colleges receive 15% of the total U.S. financial aid each year – and a third of them get almost all their revenue from federal sources.2For-profit colleges lie to students and leave them deeply in debt. They have been repeatedly caught promising a great education and career success in order to suck tuition dollars out of students and taxpayers. Some for-profit college campuses have gone as far as bribing local temp agencies to hire graduates for a day or two in order to artificially inflate “job placement” rates.1 Progressive champions Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Sherrod Brown want to put a stop to that. They recently introduced a bill, the Students Not Profits Act of 2019, that would cut off federal aid from for-profit colleges. Can you help build momentum for the bill today? Tell Congress: Pass the Students Not Profits Act. Click here to sign the petition. This crisis is even worse with Betsy DeVos at the Department of Education. News recently broke that her department gave almost $11 million to unaccredited art schools in Illinois and Colorado.3 She spent the last three years sabotaging the Obama-era Student Aid Enforcement Unit, a move seemingly designed to help give scam artists and predatory for-profit schools a free pass.4 It should be no surprise that a billionaire champion of school privatization would be siding with greedy corporations over students. DeVos clearly doesn't care that for-profit schools are responsible for 34% of student loan defaults, despite only enrolling 9% of post-secondary students.5 She doesn't care that students are going into massive debt for little to no employment reward. She just wants to help her billionaire buddies line their pockets. Luckily, Rep. Jayapal and Sen. Brown are pushing back. Their bill would end subsidies to for-profit schools and ensure that taxpayers stop paying for the exploitation of so many of our neighbors, family members and friends. We need to build momentum for the bill now. Can you click the link below to add your name today? https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Students-Not-Profits?t=9&akid=34648%2E3130208%2E5xROoM - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action  Add your name: References: Alan Pyke, "The Inside Story Of How A For-Profit College Hoodwinked Students And Got Away With It," ThinkProgress, Feb. 28, 2015. Annie Nova, "Bill would make for-profit colleges ineligible for federal student loans," CNBC, Oct. 23, 2019. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, "Trump administration let nearly $11 million in student aid go to unaccredited for-profit colleges," The Washington Post, Oct. 22, 2019. Danielle Ivory, Erica L. Green and Steve Eder, "Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits," The New York Times, May 13, 2018. Americans for Financial Reform, "News Release: The Students Not Profits Act will protect public dollars from abuses at for-profit colleges," Oct. 17, 2019.

Stop Betsy DeVos from sabotaging investigations

Petition to Congress: "Pass the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019." Add your name:

In 2015, Corinthian Colleges collapsed and left deceived students stuck with debt but no degrees. In the wake of the scandal, the Obama administration created a new team within the Department of Education – the Student Aid Enforcement Unit – to police the billions in grants and loans administered each year. By the time Obama left office, the unit had a dozen attorneys and investigators working around the clock.1,2 Then Betsy DeVos happened. DeVos spent the last three years sabotaging the investigations unit to make sure scam artists and predatory for-profit schools get a free pass.3 Now, progressives in the House of Representatives have a plan to undo DeVos's damage and protect students, and they need our help. Stand with House progressives: Stop Betsy DeVos from sabotaging investigations. Click here to sign the petition. One of the main targets of the investigative team was . In 2016, DeVry settled with the Department of Education and the Federal Trade Commission and agreed to pay $100 million in damages to the students it defrauded and deceived. When DeVos arrived on the scene, the investigations office was looking into a number of for-profit giants, including DeVry, for deceptive practices, claims about graduates getting jobs and misleading advertising.4 DeVos quickly sabotaged the investigations by reassigning and marginalizing staff, and instructing them to narrow their focus. Today, only three investigators remain, processing applications and engaging in small compliance inquiries. Worst of all, DeVos actually hired the former DeVry dean Julian Schmoke, to oversee the new, toothless investigation team.5 House progressives are fighting back. Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib and Donna Shalala teamed up on the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019, which would make the Student Aid Enforcement Unit official and give it the congressional mandate – along with staff and funding – it needs to do this necessary work.6 Students are nothing but dollar signs to Betsy DeVos and her for-profit college pals. We need tough action to confront her seemingly corrupt appeasement of the most predatory industries within higher education – and that means pointing out that progressives are leading the way. Stand with House progressives: Stop Betsy DeVos from sabotaging investigations. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/protecting-student-aid-devos?t=9&akid=34330%2E3130208%2E_Damcq Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, "Murray, Senators Denounce Move By Secretary DeVos to End Investigations and Office Responsible for Protecting Students from Predatory Colleges," May 24, 2018. Danielle Ivory, Erica L. Green and Steve Eder, "Education Department Unwinds Unit Investigating Fraud at For-Profits," The New York Times, May 13, 2018. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, "Reps. Pressley, Shalala, and Tlaib introduce the Protecting Student Aid Act of 2019," Sep. 20, 2019.

Tell Betsy DeVos: Don't sell student loans to Wall Street

Petition to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos: "Stop exploring options for selling off federal student loans to exploitative private investors and instead immediately start discharging the debt of defrauded students." Add your name:

Leave it to Betsy DeVos to dream up more and more horrible ideas. The Department of Education under DeVos is an absolute trainwreck that rewards predatory debt collection companies and makes students suffer. Now, DeVos hired corporate consultants to help her make plans to sell student loans to exploitative Wall Street investors.1 Fraudulent universities and the defunding of higher education left millions of students and families suffering with mountains of debt, and giving banks more control would make it worse. If these plans meet with immediate resistance, it will get the attention of reporters and allies in Congress and may force the Department of Education to back down. Tell Betsy DeVos: Don't sell student loans to Wall Street. Click here to sign the petition. Betsy DeVos is a nightmare for the 45 million Americans stuck with $1.56 trillion in student loan debt. Her proposed Department of Education budget would further defund public education and drive students into the hands of for-profit institutions. The department lets the companies that collect federal student loan payments cheat and lie to students, according to a scathing inspector general report. She has issued rules to help debt collectors skirt aggressive state laws and has personal financial ties to shady debt collection firms. She is even taking the side of for-profit colleges and refusing to forgive the loans of the countless students these predatory institutions defrauded.2,3,4 Now, DeVos has hired Wall Street consultants to review the federal student loan portfolio and consider options for selling loans to private investors. One of the consultants, McKinsey & Company, even has ties to some of the world's most oppressive regimes. The federal government owns more than $1 trillion of the overall student loan debt in America and makes a profit from interest on the loans. DeVos is exploring options for selling that debt into the hands of private investors – who could abuse and harass people with loans, with far fewer legal constraints, until they pay every last cent.5 At best, DeVos is handing a fat contract to corporate consultants to duplicate the analysis of the student loan portfolio that government agencies already completed. At worst, she would hand over federal student loans to some of the shadiest hedge funds and banks on Wall Street. We need to raise the heat on DeVos to stop stalling on providing debt forgiveness to defrauded students while making plans to hand student debt to private bankers. Tell Betsy DeVos: Don't sell student loans to Wall Street. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Devos-sell-student-loans?t=9&akid=33039%2E3130208%2E-cIIp9 - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Michael Stratford, "DeVos hires consultants to examine student loan portfolio," POLITICO, May 2, 2019. Andy Kroll, "The Government’s Trillion-Dollar Student Loan Office Is a Train Wreck," Rolling Stone, Feb. 22, 2019. Mary Bottari, "Betsy DeVos Ethics Report Reveals Ties to Student Debt Collection Firm," PR Watch, Jan. 25, 2017. Erica Green, "Education Department Has Stalled on Debt Relief for Defrauded Students," The New York Times, April 5, 2019. Stratford, "DeVos hires consultants to examine student loan portfolio."

Tell Congress: Pass the Student Debt Cancellation Act of 2019

Petition to Congress: "Cancel all outstanding federal and private student debts. Pass the Student Debt Cancellation Act of 2019." Add your name:

With student loan debts exceeding $1.5 trillion and nearly 40% of people expected to default on their loans, this is a crisis that demands bold solutions.1 And while corporate Democrats hedge and Betsy DeVos does her best to boost for-profit colleges at the expense of students, progressives are proposing real solutions.Student debt is an anvil around the necks of an entire generation. It's long past time to stop the half-measures and cancel all student debts outright. As a student loan holder herself, progressive champion Rep. Ilhan Omar knows the costs of outrageous education debt firsthand. She, along with Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Sen. Bernie Sanders, is leading the way with the most aggressive student debt cancellation plan yet ‒ and now they need our help to build a tidal wave of momentum. Tell Congress to cancel all student loan debts. Click here to sign the petition: DeVos' proposed Department of Education budget would further defund public education and drive students into the hands of for-profit institutions. Her department lets the companies that collect federal student loan payments cheat and lie to students. She issued rules to help debt collectors skirt aggressive state laws and has personal financial ties to shady debt collection firms. She is even refusing to forgive the loans of the countless students defrauded by predatory for-profit colleges.2,3,4 Meanwhile, the progressive base of the Democratic Party is showing what it means to put students first. Rep. Omar's and Sen. Sanders' plan would entirely eliminate loans held or guaranteed by the federal government and take aggressive steps to forgive pernicious and often-predatory private student loans. Today's student debt crisis emerges from a decades-long attempt to shift the costs of education from the ultra-wealthy onto less well-off Americans and communities of color. Now, education debt is holding back our economy and destroying lives. It prevents young people from buying homes or starting new businesses and even keeps seniors from retiring. Unlike other forms of debt, it cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. Cancelling all student loan debt would provide a massive economic stimulus, liberate an entire generation and strike a blow against Wall Street. We need to speak out now. Tell Congress to cancel all student loan debts. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/omar-student-debt?t=9&akid=32973%2E3130208%2EhR0_eg - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Zack Friedman, "Elizabeth Warren: Here's My Plan To Cancel Student Loan Debt," Forbes, June 17, 2019. Andy Kroll, "The Government’s Trillion-Dollar Student Loan Office Is a Train Wreck," Rolling Stone, Feb. 22, 2019. Mary Bottari, "Betsy DeVos Ethics Report Reveals Ties to Student Debt Collection Firm," PR Watch, Jan. 25, 2017. Erica Green, "Education Department Has Stalled on Debt Relief for Defrauded Students," The New York Times, April 5, 2019.

Tell Betsy DeVos: Don't sell student loans to Wall Street

Petition to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos: "Stop exploring options for selling off federal student loans to exploitative private investors and instead immediately start discharging the debt of defrauded students." Add your name:

Leave it to Betsy DeVos to dream up more and more horrible ideas. The Department of Education under DeVos is an absolute trainwreck that rewards predatory debt collection companies and makes students suffer. Now, DeVos hired corporate consultants to help her make plans to sell student loans to exploitative Wall Street investors.1 Fraudulent universities and the defunding of higher education left millions of students and families suffering with mountains of debt, and giving banks more control would make it worse. If these plans meet with immediate resistance, it will get the attention of reporters and allies in Congress and may force the Department of Education to back down. Tell Betsy DeVos: Don't sell student loans to Wall Street. Click here to sign the petition. Betsy DeVos is a nightmare for the 45 million Americans stuck with $1.56 trillion in student loan debt. Her proposed budget of the Department of Education would further defund public education and would drive students into the hands of for-profit institutions. The department lets the companies that collect federal student loan payments cheat and lie to students, according to a scathing inspector general report. She issued rules to help debt collectors skirt aggressive state laws and has personal financial ties to shady debt collection firms. She is even taking the side of for-profit colleges and refusing to forgive the loans of the countless students these predatory institutions defrauded.2,3,4 Now, DeVos hired Wall Street consultants to review the federal student loan portfolio and consider options for selling loans to private investors. One of the consultants, McKinsey & Company, even has ties to some of the world's most oppressive regimes. The federal government owns more than $1 trillion of the overall student loan debt in America and makes a profit from interest on the loans. DeVos is exploring options for selling that debt into the hands of private investors – who could then abuse and harass people with loans, with far fewer legal constraints, until they pay every last cent.5 At best, DeVos is handing a fat contract to corporate consultants to duplicate the analysis of the student loan portfolio that government agencies already completed. At worst, she would hand over federal student loans to some of the shadiest hedge funds and banks on Wall Street. We need to raise the heat on DeVos to stop stalling on providing debt forgiveness to defrauded students while making plans to hand student debt to private bankers. Tell Betsy DeVos: Don't sell student loans to Wall Street. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Devos-sell-student-loans?t=9&akid=32557%2E3130208%2EQ3VCp_Josh Nelson, Co-Director - CREDO Action Add your name: References: Michael Stratford, "DeVos hires consultants to examine student loan portfolio," POLITICO, May 2, 2019. Andy Kroll, "The Government’s Trillion-Dollar Student Loan Office Is a Train Wreck," Rolling Stone, Feb. 22, 2019. Mary Bottari, "Betsy DeVos Ethics Report Reveals Ties to Student Debt Collection Firm," PR Watch, Jan. 25, 2017. Erica Green, "Education Department Has Stalled on Debt Relief for Defrauded Students," The New York Times, April 5, 2019. Stratford, "DeVos hires consultants to examine student loan portfolio."

Tell Congress: Block Betsy DeVos' education cuts

DeVos's plan cuts more than $8.5 billion, eliminating about 12 percent of the budget of the Department of Education

The petition to Congress reads: "Block Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from cutting billions from the Department of Education budget." Add your name:

DeVos' cruel budget plan would hurt children's education, threaten school safety and increase the disparity between rich and poor communities. Congress must stand up for children and reject her draconian budget cuts.Betsy DeVos' Department of Education 2020 budget proposal is a disaster. She tried and failed to cut funding for the Special Olympics, but that was only part of her plan. She also wants to cut billions from public education.Instead of supporting the public schools she is supposed to serve, she wants to create a $5 billion tax credit to shift more children to private schools. Tell Congress: Block Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from cutting billions from the Department of Education budget. Click here to sign the petition. DeVos's plan cuts more than $8.5 billion, eliminating about 12 percent of the budget of the Department of Education.1 Trump rolled back her proposal to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics because of overwhelming outrage.2 But her plan goes even further. She wants to cut programs for after-school activities for children in low-income communities. She wants to cut grants for textbooks and other school needs.3 Her budget would even cut school safety efforts, including mental health services and safety equipment.4 DeVos' real goal is to funnel money away from public education to private schools. She proposed a change to the tax code that would give wealthy individuals and corporations a $5 billion tax credit for making donations to private school scholarships.5 That's $5 billion that the government would no longer have available to spend on schools that benefit all children. Trump and DeVos like to pretend that budget cuts are sadly unavoidable, but the truth is that Trump's overall budget plan calls for a record $4.75 trillion in spending. But he wants to increase funding for the military and immigration enforcement – prioritizing the politics of fear and racism over the things we actually need to thrive. This budget is not set in stone. It requires approval from Congress, which is likely to reject at least some of the worst cuts. But we can't let Congress end up "compromising" with a heartless billionaire over children's education. A budget reflects a country's moral priorities, and our priorities should be education, health care and the environment – not walls, incarceration and separating families. Every member of Congress must reject DeVos' inhumane cuts to the Department of Education. Tell Congress: Block Education Secretary Betsy DeVos from cutting billions from the Department of Education budget. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/devos-cuts?t=9&akid=32107%2E3130208%2EqVBDqr - Brandy Doyle, Campaign Manager CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Laura Meckler, "DeVos defends billions in education-spending cuts to skeptical House Democrats," The Washington Post, March 26, 2019. Shira Tarlo, "Trump says 'Special Olympics will be funded' amid outrage over budget cuts proposed by Betsy DeVos," Salon, March 29, 2019. Meckler, "DeVos defends billions in education-spending cuts to skeptical House Democrats." Ibid. Ibid. MORE INFORMATION Betsy DeVos grilled in Congress over proposed elimination of Special Olympics funding - NBC News

Submit a comment telling DeVos and the Department of Education to protect survivors' rights

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced new rules that will let schools get away with ignoring sexual assault and intimidate sexual assault survivors out of reporting.

Specifically, the rules will radically change Title IX, the civil rights law that ensures all genders have equal access to education. DeVos will allow schools to ignore sexual violence that happens off campus, where many assaults happen–even an assault at a party, for example, just a block away from campus. Not only that, DeVos will force survivors to be cross-examined by advisers or representatives of their abusers—an intentionally intimidating process that will prevent many survivors from reporting altogether.¹ 

But we can stop these changes from becoming official. Before these proposed rules can go into effect, the Department of Education must make them available for public comment and then address the concerns raised in the comments. If they don’t, they will face legal challenges to the new rules, or Congress could even intervene. 

We need an outpouring of comments to fight this rule. Can you submit your comment today? 

SUBMIT A COMMENT

Here are a few of the most dangerous changes in the rules. They will:⁴One in five women is sexually assaulted while in college or university.³  Devos' rules further rig the system for abusers.

1. Allow sexual assault survivors to be cross examined, possibly leading to more trauma or the survivor avoiding reporting at all. 
2. Allow schools to ignore sexual assault or harassment that happens at off campus bars or parties, or harassment that occurs online, even though the survivor may still see or have to interact with their abuser on campus.
3. Allow schools to only address the worst cases of sexual harassment and abuse, which would make survivors suffer through increasingly worse abuse before they can seek help from the school.
4. Limit survivors’ ability to get help by drastically limiting who students can report their assaults to. This will allow schools and universities to ignore reports of sexual harassment and assault made to the majority of employees trusted by students, such as support staff or Resident Assistants (RAs).
5. Totally exempt religiously affiliated schools from complying with Title IX requirements if they cite a specific "religious tenet," without notifying the Department of Education, leaving students in the dark about their rights until it's too late.

All told, these changes will put more students at risk and make it extremely difficult for survivors to report their abuse. Students of color, students with disabilities, low-income students, undocumented students, and LGBTQ students will especially suffer since they already face increased barriers to justice because of systemic racism, homophobia, ableism, the negative impact that sexual trauma has on one's grades, and the financial blow that results from possible legal battles with their attacker.

The Trump Administration and its allies have learned nothing from the groundswell of opposition to putting a rapist like Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court or the incredible advocacy of the #MeToo movement. They continue to support, empower, and protect abusers and rape apologists over the needs and rights of survivors at a time when survivors need more protection to safely pursue their education, not less.

Submit a comment to tell DeVos and the Department of Education to protect survivors' rights!

- the UltraViolet team

Sources:

1. Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial Assistance, Federal Register, accessed December 6, 2018

2. Tipped Workers Claim Victory Against “Tip-Stealing” Rule, The American Prospect, March 23, 2018

3. Statistics about Sexual Violence, National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2015

4. DeVos’ Proposed Changes to Title IX, Explained, National Women's Law Center, accessed December 7, 2018

Tell Betsy DeVos: Help Puerto Rico’s student borrowers

Petition to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos: "Help student borrowers in Puerto Rico by automatically enrolling them in a forbearance program that allows borrowers to forgo payments on their loans, interest-free, for six months or until the island is no longer in a state of emergency." Add your name:

Students in Puerto Rico may face a lifetime of consequences because of Betsy DeVos. Failing to make a payment on student loans can result in fines and fees and lifelong damage to credit scores. But how can we expect young people in Puerto Rico to find a way to make their monthly payment when much of the island is without food, running water, electricity and other basic necessities?1 DeVos has it within her power to give these students a pass on paying their bills until the crisis has passed.2 But since she has shown zero interest in student welfare in the past, we will need to push her to make it happen. That is why we are joining with our friends at the American Federation of Teachers to demand that DeVos help Puerto Rico’s student borrowers. Tell Betsy DeVos: Help Puerto Rico’s student borrowers. Click here to sign the petition. So far, the administration has left Puerto Rico’s students to fend for themselves. The Department of Education told borrowers to contact their student loan servicers. But they didn’t post instructions in Spanish, and many cannot find the right number to call without internet access. Even if students can postpone making their loans, they’ll be stuck paying interest for the time missed.3 More than 300,000 people on the island have student loans – around 10 percent of all Puerto Ricans.4 Their lives and communities have been devastated, but Betsy DeVos still wants them to fight through student loan bureaucracy. There is a better way: DeVos has the authority to automatically enroll borrowers who were victims of a national emergency in a forbearance program. That means no payments until after the disaster, no paying interest and falling deeper in debt and no hoops to jump through.5 We need to make it clear to DeVos that failing to help after a crisis is simply unacceptable. Tell Betsy DeVos: Help Puerto Rico’s student borrowers. Click here to sign the petition. The administration needs to allow people to skip payments for at least six months, or as long as the state of emergency in Puerto Rico lasts. It must also do so automatically, without requiring students to somehow get word and sign up, and announce the move and its implications in both Spanish and English. Any less is the exploitation of suffering people, plain and simple. Trump and DeVos have done little to show they care about Puerto Rico and people with student loans. We need to speak up, force them to act and expose how willing they are to let people suffer to fit their own agenda. Tell Betsy DeVos: Help Puerto Rico’s student borrowers. Click below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/devos_puerto_rico?t=8&akid=25615%2E3130208%2Et_YU2G - Murshed Zaheed, Political Director CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Randi Weingarten, “Calling on DeVos to Help Puerto Rico,” Sept. 28, 2017. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid.

Sign up for a Day of Action event in your area on Saturday.

This Saturday, July 15th, Democrats are doing something big: a national Resistance Summer Day of Action.

Democrats are hitting the pavement and going door-to-door in our communities, talking to our neighbors about the issues that matter in Arizona -- whether it's stopping the Republican health care repeal, fighting back against Betsy DeVos' attacks on public education, or supporting Democratic candidates who will take on the GOP.

Can you join the movement? Sign up for a Day of Action event in your area on Saturday.

Here are the details:

Say No to Devos Vouchers in AZ
When: Saturday, July 15ᵗʰ at 9:00 am MST
Where: Beyond Bread
6260 E Speedway
Tucson, AZ 85712

Senate Republicans are back in Washington and getting back to work on health care repeal. If Trump and his Republican cronies in Congress win, millions of people will lose their health care and even more will see the costs of their care skyrocket.

And then it will be full speed ahead on the rest of the GOP's agenda in Washington and statehouses around the country -- so what we do this weekend couldn't be more important.

It's up to us to stop them. So make this commitment today -- sign up for a Day of Action event in your area on Saturday:

RSVP

- Tom Perez, Chair Democratic National Committee

Letter to Sen. Flake about my kids' experience with charter schools.

After spending hours signing and sharing petitions, e-mailing and calling Senator Flake's Tucson and Washington offices to PLEAD with him to deny the appointment of Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education, I was irate to get an e-mail response that included this tweet:

Jeff FlakeVerified account‏@JeffFlake

Lest there be any doubt about how I'm voting on @BetsyDeVos she had me at "school choice" years ago...

He had the power to really represent the people and our children. If he had just voted against her, the appointment would not have gone through.

Here is the e-mail I just sent to him - letting him know we are watching him.

Dear Senator Flake,

I have two bright boys who have attended both public and charter schools here in Tucson. With Tucson already one of the worst-financed school systems in the U.S., class sizes are so large (even in Kindergarten!) that it is difficult for teachers to keep order. So when Sonoran Science Academy promised smaller class sizes, we transferred to that promising charter school. But charter schools function on a profit-first motive so they eventually let every possible student into their limited space - with inexpensive, inexperienced teachers to instruct them. I later found out that my younger son had taken to wondering the halls to escape the irate, bellowing teacher. My older son, who had received the highest score in the school on the math placement exam, who had been programming computer games since the age of 8, somehow got an F in intro to computer science! I ended up putting my younger child back at his old elementary school - with the stipulation that he be able to take advanced math. After transferring back, the teacher who had agreed to accelerate his math lessons could no longer do it because he was forced to teach two grades in one classroom when a school closed (due to money leaving the public school system to go to charter schools.) My children's' neighborhood elementary school also shut its doors and the students were crammed in with middle school students (at a middle school with a reputation for gang violence). My younger son, who had a gift for math, has now lost all interest in school and is even failing algebra.

That's why I was very disappointed that you didn't listen to me and so many other Arizonans pleading with you to deny the appointment of the inexperienced Betsy DeVos - who will push her agenda of profit-based charter schools at the expense of our public schools and our children. We have got to have someone with experience in education to reform our broken education system. Betsy DeVos is not that person. Education is the future of our country and our children.

Again, I am very disappointed and am watching the decisions you make.

Sincerely,
Jana Segal