02.03.17

Hoeven Statement on Today's Vote on the Nominee for Secretary of Education

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today issued the following statement after the U.S. Senate vote on the nominee for Secretary of Education.

“North Dakota has excellent public schools and teachers who work hard every day to provide our students with a quality education, which is why I have always strongly supported and will continue to support our public education system. When I met with Betsy DeVos, she told me she would not take away funding from public schools in North Dakota. I made a point to ask her if she supports public education as well as state and local control. She assured me that she does, and I have every intention of holding her to that commitment.

“We worked hard in the Senate to pass the Every Student Succeeds Act with strong bipartisan support. This legislation requires federal funding to go only to states, public school districts and tribes. It provides both authority and funding for education at the state and local level to ensure that parents, students and teachers determine how our children are educated. I have worked to make sure that North Dakotans, not the federal government, will make decisions about our children’s education.”

“Finally, DeVos has also committed to fully support IDEA funding and implementation in written follow-up to her Senate testimony. And while it’s true she is not a career educator, she does have significant business and administrative skills. I believe that over time North Dakota educators will see that she will be very supportive of them and their outstanding work.”

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