U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos: A career of philanthropic and political efforts to dismantle public education

• In Event: Tracking the Money I: Conservative Philanthropies, Ideologies, and Actions Shaping U.S. Educational Policy and Practice

Abstract

According to Rick Doksai, “one of the top families in philanthropy to watch these days is the conservative DeVos family” (Doksai, 2016, par. 1). This paper traces the DeVos family’s involvement in shaping education in the United States from its involvement early on with the Philanthropy Roundtable (deMarrais, 2006) and the Heritage Foundation to its current focus on school choice and the neoliberal agenda of privatizing education. This presentation will examine the history of the DeVos family and their philanthropic activities and how DeVos family member, Betsy DeVos’ tenure in the USDOE has impacted issues of gender, special education, and race, while also advancing her school choice agenda.

Author

• Jamie Lewis, Georgia Gwinnett College