Democratic senator Patty Murray, once called the “mom in tennis shoes” before she entered politics, is faced with a “profiles in courage” moment this week. She is the ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, which holds a hearing Tuesday on the nomination of Betsy DeVos to be secretary of education. Will Murray cross party lines to support her: a person who has been a voice for the countless moms in cities across the country who desperately seek quality public school choices for their children? Murray often notes with gratitude that she lived in a country where the government didn’t just say “tough luck” to families—federal grants and student loans made college possible for her and her siblings, her Senate website notes. Will Murray now say “tough luck” to these moms who seek an advocate?

Sen. Murray should visit Detroit. She will find great teachers and principals in both the traditional public school system and in the public charter schools. None of the schools are getting the full student outcomes they want, or that students deserve. Detroit, like many urban environments in the country, lacks enough quality school choices for its students. The educational choices are so inadequate that Mayor Mike Duggan reports that 27,000 children leave the city every day to attend another school.