Betsy DeVos

Before becoming President Trump’s Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos was best known as a Republican mega-donor, both nationally and in her home state of Michigan, and as a fervent advocate of school choice. The American Federation for Children (AFC) was both organized and funded by the DeVos family. AFC promotes the school privatization agenda through its support of like-minded organizations and PACs that give millions for pro-school choice candidates.

DeVos served as its chair for seven years.

Although funding school choice groups that promote vouchers is the De Vos family’s primary focus, they’ve also funded “organizations dedicated to undermining and restricting the rights of LGBTQ people.”

According to Betsy De Vos and her husband Dick, school choice leads to “greater Kingdom gains.” They believe that public schools have “displaced” churches in communities and that school choice is a way to reverse that.

Betsy DeVos has referred to the US public education system as “a monopoly, a dead end.” She has referred to those who disagree with her philosophy as “flat Earthers.”