--- title: Betsy DeVos Struggled to Answer These Education Questions description: Betsy DeVos received criticism from Democrats for appearing unwilling or unprepared to take a stance on some key issues in education policy canonical: https://time.com/4637642/betsy-devos-confirmation-education-policy/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-18T21:37:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-07T07:13:56.476Z article:section: Politics og:title: Here's a Look at the Questions Betsy DeVos Struggled to Answer og:description: Democrats criticized DeVos for dodging some of their questions og:url: https://time.com/4637642/betsy-devos-confirmation-education-policy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9dcc89d19a333a9/6988b5e8f887dcdc59e98b70/betsy-devos-confirmation-hearing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3414 og:image:height: 1920 og:image:alt: Secretary of Education nominee Betsy DeVos Confirmation Hearing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's a Look at the Questions Betsy DeVos Struggled to Answer twitter:description: Democrats criticized DeVos for dodging some of their questions twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd9dcc89d19a333a9/6988b5e8f887dcdc59e98b70/betsy-devos-confirmation-hearing.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 00:43 video:published: 2017-02-07 section: politics topics: Senate confirmation vote, Education Secretary nomination, tie vote, Vice President tiebreaker, motion to reconsider, motion to table, Senate procedure genre: news, legislative proceeding tones: formal, procedural, terse emotions: tension (low), formality (medium) sentiment: neutral audience: political news readers, civic-minded viewers, policy followers, education stakeholders people: Betsy DeVos organizations: U.S. Senate transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # Here's a Look at the Education Questions Betsy DeVos Struggled to Answer > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c58d3743-febf-4fd0-a281-fc651a84ffec&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: U.S. Senate Confirms Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary [Watch (HLS stream): U.S. Senate Confirms Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/E6H0Ha2u.m3u8) (0:43)  _Published 2017-02-07. Billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos was confirmed Tuesday as President Donald Trump's Education Secretary, bringing her rocky confirmation process to a historic conclusion._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video captures the Senate floor vote on the nomination of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary. The tally is 50 yeas and 50 nays, so the Vice President casts the deciding affirmative vote and the nomination is confirmed. A motion to reconsider is then made and tabled by voice vote, ending the proceeding. ## Key points - The Senate vote on the nomination ended 50 yeas to 50 nays, an evenly divided result. (00:00) - The Vice President cast the deciding vote in the affirmative, and the nomination was confirmed. (00:04) - A motion to reconsider the vote on the nomination was made after confirmation. (00:15) - A motion to table the motion to reconsider was made, and the question was put to the chamber. (00:22) - The presiding officer called for a voice vote on the motion to table, with ayes heard from members. (00:28) - The presiding officer declared that the ayes had it and the motion to table was agreed to. (00:37) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:15] Tie vote and Vice President's confirmation. The Senate tally ends in a 50-50 tie, and the Vice President's affirmative vote confirms the nomination. - [00:15 to 00:43] Motion to reconsider is tabled. Procedural motions to reconsider and table the vote are put to the chamber and the motion to table is agreed to by voice vote. ## Key quotes - [00:00] presiding officer: "On this vote the yeas are 50, the nays are 50." - [00:04] presiding officer: "the Vice President votes in the affirmative, and the nomination is confirmed." - [00:37] presiding officer: "The ayes do have it." ## Questions this video answers - What was the result of the Senate vote on the nomination? [00:00] - How was the tie in the Senate vote resolved? [00:04] - What procedural motions followed the confirmation vote? [00:15] - How was the motion to table the motion to reconsider decided? [00:28]  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 18, 2017 9:37 PM UTC Billionaire philanthropist Betsy DeVos was confirmed Tuesday as President Donald Trump's Education Secretary, bringing her rocky confirmation process to a historic conclusion.  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Jan 18, 2017 9:37 PM UTC Betsy DeVos, President-elect Donald Trump’s [education secretary nominee](http://time.com/4606096/betsy-devos-schoolyard-rebel/), received criticism from Democrats for appearing unwilling or unprepared to take a stance on several key issues in education policy [during her confirmation hearing](http://time.com/4637164/betsy-devos-education-secretary-hearing/) Tuesday night. Here’s a closer look at a few of those notable moments: **Measuring proficiency vs. growth**DeVos appeared unfamiliar with a long-running debate over the benefits of measuring proficiency or growth among students when she was asked for her opinion on it. “I think, if I’m understanding your question correctly around proficiency, I would also correlate it to competency and mastery, so that each student is measured according to the advancement they’re making in each subject area,” she told Minnesota Sen. Al Franken . “Well, that’s growth. That’s not proficiency,” Franken responded. “This is a subject that has been debated in the education community for years,” Franken said. “It surprises me that you don’t know this issue.” Franken has argued that growth is a more useful metric because it accounts for individual progress over a period of time. He said it’s a more useful tool for assessing advanced students, who begin at a proficient level already, as well as struggling students, who might not reach proficiency but should make progress compared to their own starting point. Those on the other side of the debate argue that all students should strive to meet a common level of proficiency. **The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act** DeVos said states should be responsible for deciding whether and how to enforce a federal law that protects the rights of students with disabilities, and she suggested that she didn’t know it was a federal law. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires schools to provide a free and appropriate education to all students with disabilities, but it has been the subject of disputes over how it should be applied in some states and school districts. “So were you unaware when I just asked you about the IDEA that it was a federal law?” said New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, for whom the issue is personal because her son has cerebral palsy. “I may have confused it.” DeVos said, adding that federal laws must be followed. **School accountability** DeVos dodged a question from Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine about accountability standards across different schools and states. When he asked multiple questions about whether all schools that receive federal funding should be held to equal standards of accountability, DeVos gave the same answer four times, saying only, “I support accountability.” Visibly frustrated, Kaine asked if she agreed with him that “all schools that receive taxpayer funding should be equally accountable.” DeVos said no, and Kaine interrupted to ask another question before she could explain the reasons for her disagreement. The exchange touched on the debate over charter school accountability. Charter schools are public, but they operate independently from a school district and are usually granted more autonomy. Some charter school advocates argue that charter schools should operate with less government interference. Others, including Kaine, have argued for increased accountability. **Gun-free zones around schools**When asked whether she thinks guns have a place in or around schools, DeVos said she would leave that decision up to state and local authorities. “I will refer back to Sen. \[Mike\] Enzi and the school that he was talking about in Wapiti, Wyoming. I think probably there, I would imagine that there’s probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies,” DeVos said, referring to a Wyoming school that has a grizzly bear fence surrounding it. DeVos also said she would support whatever stance the president-elect takes on the issue. The original question came from Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, who has been a vocal proponent of gun control measures since the [Sandy Hook elementary school shooting](http://time.com/4147684/newtown-sandy-hook-anniversary/?iid=sr-link6) in his home state in 2012\. His question referred to Trump’s promise this month that he would eliminate gun-free zones around schools on his first day in office. The Gun-Free School Zones Act, enacted in 1990, bans possession of a firearm in a school zone. But some Republicans and gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, have argued that people should be allowed to carry guns in such zones for self-defense purposes. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie introduced a bill earlier this month that would repeal that act. ## Transcript [00:00] On this vote the yeas are 50, the nays are 50. The [00:04] Senate being equally divided, the Vice President votes [00:08] in the affirmative, and the nomination is confirmed. [00:11] Thank you sir. [00:15] Majority leader. I move to reconsider the vote on the [00:18] nomination. Question is on the motion to reconsider. [00:22] I move to table the motion to reconsider. Question [00:28] is on the motion to table. All in favor say aye. Aye. All [00:32] opposed? [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:37] The ayes appear to have it. The ayes do have it. 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