Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley knocked Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over her demands to have schools reopen for in-person instruction in the fall.
Pressley, who is a member of “the Squad” of Democratic congresswomen, along with Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib, dismissed DeVos’s calls for reopening schools and condemned the administration for having “no plan” for how to reopen schools safely during the coronavirus pandemic.
“@BetsyDeVosED you have no plan. Teachers, kids and parents are fearing for their lives. You point to a private sector that has put profits over people and claimed the lives of thousands of essential workers,” Pressley wrote.
“I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child,” Pressley, who has a stepdaughter, added.
.@BetsyDeVosED you have no plan. Teachers, kids and parents are fearing for their lives. You point to a private sector that has put profits over people and claimed the lives of thousands of essential workers. I wouldn’t trust you to care for a house plant let alone my child. https://t.co/Qs0Z7gCnMo
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) July 12, 2020
Pressley referenced DeVos’s appearance on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, during which the education secretary was asked to explain why the administration is pushing for schools to reopen when many schools cannot follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines that advise keeping children 6 feet apart in already crowded classrooms. DeVos said that the CDC’s guidelines were not mandates and were designed to be “flexible” to allow each school to come up with the best option for its facilities and students.
DeVos and President Trump have argued that students need to return to schools because they have not been able to have a quality education online. The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued guidance advising schools to have in-person instruction because of the developmental and health needs that students struggle to meet in an online setting.
