Despite Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ narrow confirmation vote, Democrats scored a victory in the court of public opinion. Republican lawmakers in purple states faced protests and angry constituent calls. An online poll conducted by the Baltimore Sun found that 55 percent of respondents felt that DeVos was a threat to public education. Social media was ablaze with criticism of DeVos and her support for school choice, including a popular conspiracy that Republicans plan to make the country dumber and more intolerant to benefit themselves in future elections.

Lost in the fray was any evidence for an educational apocalypse. That omission is unsurprising: the best evidence suggests that DeVos’ unapologetic support for school choice poses no threat to American civil society.