Betsy DeVos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Betsy DeVos
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Official portrait, 2017
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| 11th United States Secretary of Education | |
| In office February 7, 2017 – January 8, 2021 |
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| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Mick Zais |
| Preceded by | John King Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Cardona |
| Chair of the Michigan Republican Party | |
| In office 2003–2005 |
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| Preceded by | Gerald Hills |
| Succeeded by | Saul Anuzis |
| In office 1996–2000 |
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| Preceded by | Susy Avery |
| Succeeded by | Gerald Hills |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Elisabeth Dee Prince
January 8, 1958 Holland, Michigan, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 4 |
| Parent |
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| Relatives | Erik Prince (brother) |
| Education | Calvin College (BA) |
Elisabeth Dee DeVos (/dəˈvɒs/ DƏ-voss; née Prince; born January 8, 1958) is an American politician and supporter of charities. She was the 11th Secretary of Education from 2017 to 2021. DeVos is known for her support of school choice, which means giving families more options for where their children go to school. This includes programs like school vouchers and charter schools. She was also involved in the Republican Party in Michigan for many years.
DeVos is married to Dick DeVos, who used to be the CEO of Amway. Her brother, Erik Prince, started a company called Blackwater USA. Her father, Edgar Prince, founded a large company called Prince Corporation. In 2016, her family was listed as one of the richest in America.
On November 23, 2016, Donald Trump, who was about to become president, announced he would choose DeVos to be his Secretary of Education. Many people had strong opinions about her nomination. On February 7, 2017, the Senate voted to approve her. The vote was very close, 51–50, and Vice President Mike Pence had to cast the deciding vote. This was the first time in U.S. history that a Vice President had to break a tie for a Cabinet nominee.
On January 7, 2021, DeVos resigned from her job as Secretary of Education. She said her decision was because of the January 6 United States Capitol attack. Her resignation happened 12 days before her term would have ended.
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Early life
Betsy DeVos was born Elisabeth Prince on January 8, 1958. She grew up in Holland, Michigan. She was the oldest of four children. Her parents were Elsa and Edgar Prince, who was a very successful businessman. Her father founded Prince Corporation, a company that made car parts. Her family has Dutch roots.
DeVos went to Holland Christian High School, a private school in her hometown. She then went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In 1979, she earned a degree in business economics. While in college, she was interested in politics and volunteered for Gerald Ford's presidential campaign. She also attended the 1976 Republican National Convention as a young Republican.
DeVos grew up in the Christian Reformed Church in North America. She has been a member and leader at Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids.
Political activity
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Since 1982, DeVos has been involved in the Michigan Republican Party. She was elected as a local representative for 16 terms. From 1992 to 1997, she was a Republican National committeewoman for Michigan. She also led the Michigan Republican Party from 1996 to 2000, and again from 2003 to 2005. People described her as a strong supporter of Republican ideas.
She resigned from her leadership role in 2000, saying she was a "fighter for the grassroots" and not someone who just followed others. In 2003, she was elected party chairman again without anyone running against her.
Political fundraising
DeVos personally helped raise a lot of money for political campaigns. For example, she raised over $150,000 for George W. Bush's re-election campaign in 2004. She also hosted a fundraising event at her home in 2008 that President Bush attended. The DeVos family has given more than $17 million to political candidates and groups since 1989.
DeVos and her family believe that there should not be limits on how much money people can donate to political campaigns. They argue that such limits go against freedom of speech. In 1997, DeVos wrote that her family was the largest contributor of "soft money" to the Republican Party. She said, "We expect a return on our investment; we expect a good and honest government." She also said they expected the Republican Party to use the money to support their policies and win elections.
2016 U.S. presidential election
During the 2016 election, DeVos first supported other Republican candidates like Jeb Bush and Carly Fiorina. She later supported Marco Rubio. In March 2016, DeVos said that Donald Trump "does not represent the Republican Party."
Business career
DeVos is the leader of the Windquest Group. This is a private company that invests in technology, manufacturing, and clean energy. DeVos and her husband started this company in 1989.
Neurocore
Betsy and her husband Dick are major investors in Neurocore. This company has centers that offer biofeedback therapy. This therapy aims to help with issues like depression and anxiety by retraining the brain. Some medical experts and news outlets have questioned if the company's claims are proven. Democratic senators were worried about a possible conflict of interest because DeVos would keep her investment in the company while being Secretary of Education. DeVos said she would leave the company's board but keep her investment.
U.S. Secretary of Education
Nomination
On November 23, 2016, Donald Trump announced that DeVos was his choice for Secretary of Education. DeVos said she was "honored to work with the President-elect on his vision to make American education great again." Teachers unions generally did not like her nomination. However, people who support school choice praised her.
Some people were concerned because DeVos was not an educator herself. Others questioned how well Michigan's charter school system, which DeVos supported, was working. The president of the American Federation of Teachers called DeVos "the most ideological, anti-public education nominee." But former presidential candidates Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney called her an "outstanding pick" and a "smart choice."
Confirmation hearing
DeVos's confirmation hearing was held on January 17, 2017. It lasted three and a half hours and became a very strong debate between political parties. Democratic senators asked her many questions about her wealth and her family's political donations.
Before her confirmation vote, many people contacted their senators to say they did not want DeVos to be confirmed. More than 300 state lawmakers also wrote a letter against her appointment. However, 18 Republican governors and nine Republican members of Congress from Michigan supported her.
Debate and final vote
On January 31, DeVos's nomination was approved by a committee. On February 1, two Republican senators, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, said they would vote against her. This meant the vote would likely be a 50–50 tie if all Democrats and independents voted against her. If there was a tie, Vice President Mike Pence would have to cast the deciding vote.
On February 7, 2017, the Senate held the final vote. As expected, the vote was 50–50. All Democrats and independents, plus the two Republican senators, voted against DeVos. The other 50 Republican senators voted for her. Because of the tie, Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote in favor of DeVos. This officially confirmed her as Secretary of Education. This was the first time a Vice President had to break a tie for a Cabinet vote in many years.
Staffing
DeVos said she was concerned that some employees in the Education Department might still support the previous administration. She stated that "Whatever can be done will be done, and it will be done swiftly and surely."
In April 2017, DeVos praised the president's choice of Carlos G. Muñiz as the department's main lawyer. She also named Candice Jackson and Jason Botel to important roles in the department.
In 2018, The New York Times reported that the team investigating problems with for-profit colleges was much smaller under DeVos. The team's work was also reduced. DeVos appointed Julian Schmoke as the new supervisor for this team. He used to be a dean at DeVry Education Group, which was one of the schools being investigated.
Policy actions
School choice and private schools
In February 2017, DeVos said that historically black colleges were "real pioneers when it comes to school choice." This caused some discussion because these schools were created because of segregation laws. DeVos later agreed that racism was an important reason for their history.
On March 29, 2017, DeVos gave her first major speech about her policies. She talked about school choice, which has been her main focus for over 30 years. She said she wanted to give children more choices in education. She also criticized the previous administration for "throwing money at the problem" by giving more funds to struggling schools. On May 22, 2017, DeVos announced that the Trump administration wanted to greatly expand school choice in America. She mentioned Indiana, which has a large school voucher program, as a possible example for a national plan.
In a May 2017 hearing, DeVos was asked if she would stop federal money from going to schools that discriminate against students. She said that states should have "flexibility" in how they run their programs.
In a March 2018 interview on 60 Minutes, reporter Lesley Stahl asked DeVos about how her school choice programs were working in Michigan. Stahl said that public schools in Michigan were doing worse. DeVos could not give specific examples of improvement but said there were "pockets" where schools were doing better than public schools.
On June 6, 2017, DeVos said that states would decide if private schools would get money from the federal government.
Student loans
On April 11, 2017, DeVos changed some policies from the Obama administration. These policies were designed to protect students who had student loans.
On July 6, 2017, government lawyers from 18 states and Washington, D.C., sued DeVos. They said she was wrongly delaying rules that protected students attending for-profit colleges. These rules were supposed to start on July 1, 2017. On September 12, 2018, DeVos lost this lawsuit.
During the coronavirus pandemic, DeVos directed millions of dollars from the CARES Act (a relief fund) to private and religious schools. This money was originally meant for public schools and colleges.
DeVos also pushed for schools to reopen even when coronavirus cases were still high in many parts of the country. She said the Trump administration was thinking about taking away funding from public schools if they did not offer full-time in-person learning. On July 12, 2020, she said there was "nothing in the data that suggests that kids being in school is in any way dangerous to them." Public health experts disagreed with this statement.
Other
On June 2, 2017, DeVos supported President Trump's decision to leave the Paris Agreement.
In October 2017, DeVos removed 72 documents that explained the rights of students with disabilities. These rights are protected under laws like the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
In March 2018, DeVos announced a School Safety Commission. This group included four Cabinet members, including herself. The commission aimed to provide recommendations for school safety.
Protests and security
DeVos was a controversial figure during her time as Secretary. On February 10, 2017, during her first public appearance, protesters tried to stop her from entering a public middle school in Washington, D.C. She eventually entered through a different door.
After this incident, the U.S. Marshals Service began providing security for her instead of the Education Department's usual security team. This cost more money.
During her first visit to a public university on April 6, 2017, DeVos was met by about 30 protesters. The U.S. Marshals Service said that providing extra security for her would cost about $7.8 million between February and September 2017.
On May 10, 2017, DeVos gave a speech at Bethune–Cookman University, a historically black college. Many students booed her and turned their backs during her speech.
Resignation
On January 7, 2021, DeVos resigned from her job as Secretary of Education. She said in her letter to President Trump that the riots at the U.S. Capitol had overshadowed his administration's achievements. She was the second Cabinet member to resign after the attack.
Philanthropy and activism
The Prince Foundation
DeVos was listed as the vice president of the Edgar and Elsa Prince Foundation for many years. This foundation made donations to various groups.
Dick and Betsy DeVos Family Foundation
The Dick & Betsy DeVos Family Foundation started in 1989. The foundation says its giving is guided by faith. It focuses on supporting leadership, change, and help in five areas: education, community, arts, justice, and leadership. In 2015, the DeVos Foundation gave $11.6 million to charities. This brought the couple's total lifetime giving to $139 million. Forbes magazine ranked the DeVos family as one of America's top givers in 2015.
The DeVos Foundation has given money to hospitals, health research, arts groups, Christian schools, and conservative research groups. From 1999 to 2014, about half of the $100 million the foundation donated went to Christian organizations. They also supported private Christian schools, charter schools, and public schools.
In 2016, the Foundation reported $14.3 million in donations to over 100 organizations. These included the X Prize Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute.
Acton Institute and All Children Matter
DeVos has served as a leader and board member for the Acton Institute. She also led the All Children Matter PAC.
Arts
Kennedy Center
President George W. Bush appointed DeVos to the board of directors of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2004. She served there until 2010. While on the board, she and her husband gave money to create a center. This center teaches arts managers how to raise funds and manage their cultural organizations. In 2010, the couple donated $22.5 million to continue this effort. This was the largest private donation in the Kennedy Center's history at the time.
ArtPrize
In 2009, Betsy DeVos's son, Rick DeVos, started ArtPrize. This is an international art competition held in Grand Rapids, Michigan. As of 2016, about 16 percent of ArtPrize's yearly budget came from various foundations run by the DeVos family.
Education activism
The DeVoses give a scholarship each year to students at Northwood University. DeVos was also a member of the board of the Foundation for Excellence in Education (ExcelinEd). This is a group that studies education and was founded by Jeb Bush.
DeVos believes that education in the United States should have more charter schools. She also thinks that more students should be able to attend private schools through financial help programs, like vouchers. She has said that education is like "a closed system, a closed industry, a closed market. It's a monopoly, a dead end." DeVos believes that opening up the education system will give parents more choices. Critics say this is an effort to make the American public education system more private.
School vouchers
DeVos is known as a strong supporter of school vouchers. These vouchers would allow public money to be used for students to attend private schools. The New York Times said it is "hard to find anyone more passionate about the idea of steering public dollars away from traditional public schools than Betsy DeVos."
DeVos was the chairwoman of the board of the Alliance for School Choice. Until November 2016, she led the All Children Matter PAC. She and her husband started this group in 2003 to promote school vouchers and support candidates who agree with these ideas. DeVos and her husband gave millions of dollars to this organization.
She also served on the boards of other groups that wanted to expand school choice. She and her husband worked to help pass Michigan's first charter-school law in 1993. They also tried, but failed, to change Michigan's constitution in 2000 to allow tax-credit scholarships or vouchers. After that defeat, DeVos started another group called the Great Lakes Education Project, which supported charter schools.
DeVos was also the chair of the American Federation for Children (AFC). This group works to promote school choice, especially through school vouchers and scholarship tax credit programs.
Detroit charter school system
DeVos has supported the Detroit charter school system. Some people, like Douglas N. Harris, a professor at Tulane University, have said that DeVos was partly responsible for what they called "the biggest school reform disaster in the country." He pointed out that Detroit had the lowest reading and math scores among cities in a national evaluation. He said she created a system with little oversight, where schools that were not doing well could still enroll students.
However, others have defended DeVos's record in Michigan. Ramesh Ponnuru argued that Harris's claims about Detroit's charter schools were too negative. He said that a study showed many charter schools in Detroit performed better than traditional public schools in reading and math. Jay P. Greene, a professor at the University of Arkansas, also said that Detroit had closed more charter schools than some other states.
During her confirmation hearing, Senator Patty Murray asked DeVos why charter school performance was so poor. DeVos defended the system by using graduation rates that were much higher than those used for official state and federal reports. These examples were later questioned by professors and reporters.
Personal life
The DeVos family is one of the wealthiest in Michigan. Betsy DeVos's husband, Richard Marvin "Dick" DeVos Jr., is a multi-billionaire. His family founded Amway. Dick DeVos gives a lot of money to conservative political campaigns and charities. He also ran for Governor of Michigan in 2006. Dick's father, Richard Marvin DeVos Sr., co-founded Amway and owned the Orlando Magic basketball team. In 2016, he was listed as one of America's wealthiest people.
Dick and Betsy DeVos married in 1979. They have four adult children: Rick, Elissa, Andrea, and Ryan. Their son Rick works for the Windquest Group and started the ArtPrize festival in Grand Rapids.
Betsy DeVos's brother, Erik Prince, used to be a U.S. Navy SEAL officer. He founded Blackwater USA, a private company that provides military services.
Cultural depictions
Betsy DeVos has been shown in popular culture. In February 2017, an artist named Glenn McCoy created a political cartoon about her called Trying to Trash Betsy DeVos. This cartoon was based on a famous painting by Norman Rockwell.
She has also been played by Kate McKinnon on the TV show Saturday Night Live several times. These performances often made fun of DeVos's interviews. In March 2018, Randy Rainbow created a funny "interview" with DeVos based on her 60 Minutes interview.
DeVos has also been impersonated by drag queens on the TV show RuPaul's Drag Race.
See also
In Spanish: Betsy DeVos para niños
- List of female United States Cabinet members
