Former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on Sunday criticized the Trump administration’s education policies, comparing them to the yacht owned by current Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, which was set adrift by vandals.
“You probably saw in the news — for me it was just a crazy metaphor — that about a week ago [DeVos’s] yacht was found adrift. $40 million yacht just out there,” Duncan said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“For me that sort of represents where they are in terms of education policy,” he added. “There isn’t one.”
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“The policy is adrift,” he continued. “There’s nothing out there of substance.”
Vandals reportedly untied the DeVos-owned yacht from the dock at a northern Ohio marina and set it adrift in the Huron Boat Basin late last month.
The yacht hit a dock, causing between $5,000 and $10,000 in damage, The Toledo Blade reported.
Duncan, who served as secretary of Education from 2009 to 2015, also listed a series of goals he said the Trump administration is ignoring. He mentioned ensuring access for every child to high-quality pre-kindergarten, increasing high school graduation rates to 90 percent and ranking among the best in the world in college completion percentages.
“None of those are on the radar. That for me is we’re selling our nation short,” Duncan said, adding that improved educational standards will lead to a stronger economy.
DeVos was a controversial pick to lead the Department of Education due to her support for charter schools and tuition vouchers that use public funds. She was barely approved as the nominee to lead the department, with Vice President Pence casting the tie-breaking vote in her favor.