WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, in a hearing before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva prodded U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos on the severe levels of underfunding of the nation’s public schools and its impact on teacher walk-outs in Arizona and other parts of the country. In addition, he addressed the Department of Education’s so-called reorganization plan that calls for significant changes to the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA).

“As teachers walk-out of their classrooms due to significant cuts to public education budgets that imperil their ability to serve their students, Secretary DeVos and her anti-public education henchmen are hard at work dismantling the very system that teachers are fighting so hard to defend,” said Rep. Grijalva. “Since assuming the helm of the Department of Education, Secretary DeVos has undertaken policy changes that undermine our public schools, roll back important protections for vulnerable student populations, and open the doors for the for-profit college industry to prey on our students. In light of major grassroots support for our teachers and public education, I asked questions that would force the Secretary to address the negative impacts of the Republican education agenda and evaluate her misguided support for it. I remain convinced that her agenda is a disaster for our public schools and reaffirm my opposition to it.”

Click on the video below to watch the exchange between Rep. Grijalva and Secretary DeVos.