Betsy DeVos and the Evolution of the School Choice Agenda in American Politics

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Examining Federal-, State-, and District-Level School Reform: Choice, Finance, and Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine Betsy DeVos’s arguments for school choice and position them within the broader history of the school choice debate. I utilize CDA to analyze DeVos’s discourse around school choice and social network analysis to explore how DeVos has quietly and strategically advanced a school choice agenda for over a decade. By framing these analyses with the Republican and Democratic parties’ rhetoric around school choice over the past 60 years, I highlight points of convergence between DeVos’s position and national party trends, as well as new tactics in DeVos’s approach.

Author

• Megan Duff, Teachers College, Columbia University