In a tense exchange before Congress, Betsy DeVos refused to rule out funding schools that discriminate against students

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May 25, 2017 9:26 PM

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos refused to say whether the department will withhold funding from private schools that discriminate against students.

Betsy DeVos had another testy exchange with Congress.

In testimony to Congress on Wednesday, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos refused to say whether the department will withhold funding from private schools that discriminate against students, The New York Times reports.

DeVos testified in front of a

A tense exchange began between Clark and DeVos:

Clark: "Do you see any circumstance where the federal Department of Education under your leadership would say that a school was not qualified? What if they said, 'we are not accepting African American students,' but that was OK within the state? Do you see any situation where you would step in?"

DeVos: "Well, again, the Office of Civil Rights and our Title IX protections are broadly applicable across the board, but when it comes to parents making choices on behalf of their students ..."

Clark: "This isn't about parents making choices, this is about the use of federal dollars. Is there any situation? Would you say to Indiana, 'that school cannot discriminate against LGBT students if you want to receive federal dollars?'"

DeVos: "I believe states should continue to have flexibility in putting together programs ..."

Clark: "So if I understand your testimony — I want to make sure I get this right — there is no situation of discrimination or exclusion that, if a state approved it for its voucher program, that you would step in and say, 'that's not how we are going to use our federal dollars?'"

You can watch the full exchange here:

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