Academics
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos Considers Using Federal Funds to Arm Schools
DeVos claims that the Support and Academic Enrichment grants to buy firearms is different than other federal grants, and she want’s to act on this, immediately.
On Wednesday night, The New York Times reported Education Secretary Betsy DeVos came up with a plan that would allow states to use federal grants to purchase guns for teachers.
While congress passed a school safety bill in March that assigns $50 million to school districts, the use of funding for firearms is prohibited at the federal level. To get around this stipulation, DeVos’s plan, would tap into a grant that doesn’t explicitly prohibit weapons purchases called the Support and Academic Enrichment grant.
“The department is constantly considering and evaluating policy issues, particularly issues related to school safety,” Education Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Hill said.
Opposition to this plan comes from multiple departments including law enforcement, educators, and lawmakers.
In a statement to CNBC, The president of the American Federation of Teachers, Randi Weingarten, spoke critically of DeVos’ plan calling it “insane” saying it would “make kids and educators less safe” and “turn the U.S. government into an arms dealer for schools.”
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