Washington (February 2, 2017) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement in opposition to the nomination of Besty DeVos to be Secretary of Education.

“All children deserve access to a quality public education regardless of income, race, ethnicity, neighborhood, or disability status. Betsy DeVos does not share this commitment to equal opportunity, and I do not believe she is qualified to serve as Secretary of Education.

“The Secretary of Education must fight for all children and families across America, not promote companies seeking to profit off the backs of our students. Betsy DeVos has spent her career supporting policies that divert students and resources away from public schools. Her efforts to improve education in her home state of Michigan were completely unsuccessful, and it would be detrimental to Massachusetts and the entire country to expand her failures to other school districts.

“Thousands of my constituents in Massachusetts have contacted me with their serious concerns about Mrs. DeVos’s nomination. Their passion is born of a deep commitment to ensuring the very best education for all children in the Commonwealth. I commend them, and I agree with their concerns. I will vote no on Betsy DeVos’s nomination.”