Trying to Deliver "Failing" Grade to Betsy Devos, Teachers Locked Out of Education Dept

Teachers’ groups, parents, and students were barred from entering the Department of Education on Thursday, the anniversary of Betsy DeVos’s confirmation as Education Secretary, to present her with a “Failing” report card alongside tens of thousands of comments from teachers who disapprove of her performance leading the nation’s public education system.

“This is a remarkable moment…this is the first time that I have ever been to this building where we were not let in.”—Randi Weingarten, AFT President

After assembling protesters who wanted to express dissatisfaction over DeVos’s record on protecting civil rights and supporting funding for low-income schools, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and National Education Association head Lily Eskelsen García found the doors to the Department locked.

“This is a remarkable moment,” Ms. Weingarten said to the demonstrators. “They knew that teachers and parents and students from all over the country have actually taken their time to say what is going on in their schools. And here on Betsy DeVos’s anniversary, this is the first time that I have ever been to this building where we were not let in.”

In categories including protection of civil rights and equality in schools and ensuring funding for low-income students and children of color DeVos received “F” grades across the board.

The grades were given out after a year in which DeVos rolled back Obama-era guidance protecting students on college campuses from sexual assault and ordering schools to allow students to use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity, and made it more difficult for students who had been defrauded by for-profit schools to receive loan forgiveness.