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SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos called for breaking out of the "confines of the federal government's approach for education" during a brief visit to Salt Lake City Tuesday where she was met by protesters.
DeVos told an audience of more than 1,000 technology and education leaders gathered for Arizona State University's Global Silicon Valley conference that the backlash against her push for more school choice comes from fear.
For those satisfied with the education system, "the threat of something changing about that is very scary," she said. "There is a very large status quo defense that will stop at almost nothing to try to defend a system that is pretty antiquated."
Outside the Grand America Hotel where the conference was being held, about 100 protesters carried signs with messages including "Dump DeVos" and chanted, 'Public schools are not for sale, Betsy wants to see us fail."
The protest was organized by Utah Indivisible, a group that describes itself as part of the resistance movement to President Donald Trump, and focused on DeVos' support for school choice through vouchers.
"Ninety percent of our kids attend public schools yet Secretary DeVos would do all that she can to actually privatize our schools with the voucher system," said Brad Asay, president of the American Federation of Teachers of Utah.
Asay said Utahns "support public schools, not privatization, not vouchers, not austerity measures." In 2007, a Utah law that would have provided scholarships for children to attend private schools was rejected in a voter referendum.
DeVos did not bring up school vouchers during her visit but responded to a reporter question on the issue by saying it should be up to states whether to adopt vouchers and other school choice initiatives she has championed.
"If the state of Utah decided they didn't want to participate in something, they certainly would have that right. I would certainly hope to encourage leadership to consider otherwise," the secretary said.
But she said "the momentum around this has continued to build across the country," the notion that "everybody should have the opportunity to make multiple choices or decisions, and not just those that have the economic means to do so."
Calling it "an issue for Utah to grapple with," DeVos said in a KSL-TV interview "the case can be made that every student, no matter the family's income, should be able to find an educational environment that works for that child."
Trump has proposed spending $1.4 billion on school choice in his budget, including vouchers for private schools, charter schools and flexibility for local districts to spend federal dollars, even as he seeks a $9 billion cut in department funding.
DeVos said she wants "states to become more creative in their thinking about how to address their students' needs. Washington doesn't have all the answers. In fact, it usually doesn't have the best answer. So my job is to get out of the way."
In her speech, she said the U.S. education system is "unjust and fails to serve students," a situation she labeled unacceptable compared to the advances made in other sectors, such as streaming video, cellphones and ride-hailing services.
The education system, DeVos said, should focus on students, not buildings, and if "a child is learning, it shouldn't matter where." The system should also respect what she called a parents' "fundamental right to choose" what's best for their children.
Just as when a cellphone network doesn't provide needed coverage, DeVos said a student shouldn't "be locked into a school that fails them" and called on the audience of innovators to think big and act boldly on their behalf
A ripple of laughter swept through the audience when DeVos said she came into the job without "a whole lot of preconceived notions." The billionaire philanthropist from Michigan is seen as a leader of the school choice movement.
Earlier Tuesday, DeVos toured several Granite Technical Institute classrooms and participated in a roundtable discussion about the aerospace pathways program started in 2015 that readies students for industry jobs.
DeVos praised the program, a partnership between the Granite School District and Salt Lake Community College and employers such as Boeing, where students earn a postsecondary certificate in aerospace manufacturing.
"All of you coming together with a 'Let's get it done' attitude has clearly reaped benefits and rewards for particularly these students that have the opportunity," she said, calling it an example of an innovate way to help students find their future.
During a visit to an advanced composites manufacturing class, DeVos looked over a carbon fiber frisbee being put together from layers of carbon fiber and fiberglass by a team of students seeking a lighter and stronger flying disc.
Ben Banegas, a sophomore at Hunter High School in West Valley City, said he appreciated the federal official's interest in their project, set to be followed by carbon fiber bongos and hopefully next year, a snowboard.
"That is pretty cool," Banegas said. "She asked how we like the program. We like it a lot because of all the hands-on things we get to do."
Contributing: Ryan Morgan
