What Conservatives Could Learn from Betsy DeVos By Jim Blew May 2021 Key Points • Conservative education reformers have not had much success shaping federal education policy, largely because our opposition is playing to win the long game—and we are not. • We can win the contest over federal education policy if we prepare for inevitable attacks, persuasively communicate, and effectively manage our assets, especially human talent. • We can learn from our experiences and succeed in our efforts to empower families, unfet- ter teachers, and keep education decisions local. But, we must stay in the game and start playing to win. As Betsy DeVos’ assistant secretary for policy, I improve education. The people closest to problems— witnessed the messy business of making and imple- namely, educators, families, and students—will have menting federal education policy during the cha- even less power to fix those problems. That, in turn, otic Donald Trump administration. From that could easily accelerate the declines in student out- front-row seat, I learned more than I expected comes, especially for our most vulnerable children. about what conservatives and education reformers All this should cause concerns about our growing do right and what we do that’s self-defeating and educational inequities and their implications for counterproductive. our national prosperity. Conservative education reformers have not had Given the stakes, conservatives should raise our much success shaping federal education policy, game. Someday, perhaps as early as 2025, conserva- largely because our opposition is playing to win the tives will return to the US Department of Education long game—and we are not. They doggedly pursue (ED). This report outlines several ways we can take their full-blown vision of an expensive and expan- full advantage of that next opportunity and start to sive federal role across decades. We wistfully opine take the fight to our opponents. that a federal role should be limited or eliminated when out of office and then scramble to figure out how Stand Up for Civility and Substance to manage the federal role when given the chance. Unless we change our ways, opponents to reform First, we need to prepare for what awaits the next (and defenders of the status quo) will increasingly reform-minded US secretary of education. The exercise greater control from Washington, DC. Their attacks on the next one could be as brutal as those success will inevitably curtail the freedom of states, on DeVos. localities, and individuals to experiment, innovate, and AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE 1 It was popular to comment how DeVos brought point as a political weapon seems to have subsided the vicious, personal vilification campaign upon these days, perhaps because DeVos is less of a herself. If only she had been as knowledgeable and threat or because a few of President Joe Biden’s savvy as the pundits were, then she would have cabinet nominations have also squeezed through maintained her credibility. In my view, the situation with one-vote margins. was a bit more complicated. The secretary herself had a centered sense of From the moment the DeVos nomination was humor about this topic—good-naturedly noting, announced, the unions and their allies assailed her for example, that her confirmation hearing was a with three central lines of attack. Her name had been “real bear.” She was already familiar with the put forward by President Trump (enough reason teachers unions’ brass-knuckle techniques from for a large segment of the public to despise her). decades in this work, so she accepted that every She was part of the “1 percent” (suggesting that, mistake would be made into a media sensation. She among other things, she was out of touch with the also recognized that she might make more mistakes. concerns of low- and middle-income families). No one other than a long-term department insider And, for an audience that has only the vaguest idea could possibly master everything her critics might of what the US secretary of education actually ask about dozens of germane laws, hundreds of does, she did not have a background that qualified regulations and legal cases, and thousands of activ- her for the job. Specifically, she had never run a ities embedded in the department’s $95 billion total public school district or taught in a public school. annual budget. She shrugged it off and told the rest To the unions and their allies, her decades of work of us to focus on the real work, not her reputation. trying to improve schools and reform the system But for those of us advising her, that wasn’t so were not only a scary break from the status quo but easy. We could admire that when they went low, also definitive evidence she was wrong for the job. she invariably went high. But, her shredded credi- Their three themes were hammered through social bility made the real work much harder, which was, media and by mainstream reporters, and they were after all, why reform opponents orchestrated their eventually picked up and reinforced by late-night campaign. Even school visits became politicized, comedy: Hey, don’t criticize Betsy DeVos until so that schools that epitomized the reform vision you’ve walked a mile . on her yacht. would eschew her public visits, privately admitting Next, her opponents turned to making her nom- their fears that they would be labeled “Trumpian” ination hearing into a circus. As expected during (a code word in some circles for racist). four-plus hours of hostile grilling on an intimidating This wasn’t the first vilification campaign the range of topics, from student loan repayment plans unions and their allies conducted, and it won’t be to preschoolers with disabilities, she made some their last. Credibility destruction is their playbook mistakes. At one point, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) was whenever anyone threatens their stranglehold over emphasizing the need to respect local control of education policy. Remember what they did to Eva schools, noting that, in his state of Wyoming, a Moskowitz, Rod Paige, and Michelle Rhee, among handful of schools had to keep bear guns on hand others. Their ad hominem attacks are designed to because of nearby grizzlies. Later, in response to a distract us from the real issues, such as whether all question about guns in schools, DeVos asserted families (not just the affluent and well-connected that local authorities should decide such issues— ones) should be empowered to choose a school specifically noting Sen. Enzi’s grizzly bears. Again, and control their children’s education. late-night comedians had a heyday. The lesson is that next time an education reformer After the hearing came the floor vote. The Senate ascends to a position of power, we must not shrink approved her nomination by a 51–50 vote, with Vice away from crying foul over ad hominem attacks or President Mike Pence breaking the tie and providing from demanding a substantive discussion of the a talking point that her opponents sometimes still issues. We should be ready to hit back, and we recite as proof she was unqualified. In reality, the obviously should not pile on. This is true even close vote was the result of politics and a multimillion when we aren’t in full agreement with the nominee dollar lobbying campaign. The use of this talking AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE 2 and even if we hold some envy for them. Otherwise, to reopen, but she did help make the case for reo- the bullies will win, every time. pening and supported local leaders who were dealing with union intransigence. Careful with That Megaphone The person with the larger megaphone was, of course, Trump. Once he weighed in, his message was The vilification of DeVos did have at least one resid- simpler and clearer than the secretary’s. In one of ual benefit. As the union made her a household his all-caps tweets, he said: “SCHOOLS MUST name, they handed her an outsized megaphone. OPEN IN THE FALL!!!”4 He did not mention the Generally, most Americans never pay much attention harm school closures caused students, the growing to the US secretary of education or can recall their evidence to support his position, or the challenges names, but that obscurity changed under DeVos. of safely reopening. Americans knew her, and they knew her signature Instantly, Trump made school reopening divisive issue: school choice. While the public often held and top of mind for more Americans. The sudden unfavorable opinions of her, their negative feelings salience was not all bad; it was good for voters to did not spill over to school choice. In fact, public question why teachers would be allowed to go to favorability for school choice proposals rose to new bars and restaurants but not classrooms. However, highs during her tenure, especially among African the reaction from the union leadership and their American voters.1 allies was also blunt and intractable: Schools must The growing popularity of school choice is not not open. The unions wanted to ensure zero risk of entirely due to DeVos. The issue has other promoters infection for their members and would settle for and is naturally compelling. Americans intuitively nothing less, even as other essential workers strug- appreciate that if some families have educational gled to find safe childcare due to school closures. choice, then all families should. Plus, parents’ frus- They claimed Trump did not care about teachers tration during the pandemic clearly boosted interest or children and wanted schools to open only so in the issue, as they longed for an option (any option) parents could return to work and help the economy.