Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) was one of the senators grilling Donald Trump’s education cabinet pick Betsy DeVos. Watching her truly awful hearings Tuesday, it was easy to see why the Republican leadership is trying to speed through these cabinet hearings. In one exchange, the billionaire DeVos explained very clearly that she doesn’t believe that schools should have to follow federal regulations when it comes to protecting the rights of children with disabilities. Yes. Here’s the exchange.
Tim Kaine: Should all k-12 schools receiving governmental funding be required to meet the requirements of the individuals with Disabilities Education Act?
Betsy DeVos: I think they already are.
Tim Kaine: But I'm asking you a should question. Whether they are not we'll, get into that later. Should all schools that receive taxpayer funding be required to meet the requirements of the individuals with Disabilities in education?
Betsy DeVos: I think that is a matter that's best left to the states.
Tim Kaine: So states, some states might be good to kids with disabilities and other states might not be so good and then what? People could just move around the country if they don't like other kids been treated?
Betsy DeVos: I think that's an issue that's best left to the states.
Tim Kaine: What about the federal requirement? It’s a federal law the individuals with Disabilities Education Act? Let's limit the federal funding. If schools receive federal funding should they be required to follow federal law?
I couldn’t transcribe the ending of this exchange, having thrown my television out of the window. DeVos says she cannot agree that federally funded school should have to comply with the Disabilities Education Act. That is madness.
Billionaires like DeVos and the rest of Trump’s cabinet picks consider an allergy to gold to be the only disability worth noting.
