Association of Texas Professional Educators
<p>February 7, 2017</p>
<p>With a 51-to-50 vote, the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education today. This was an historic event, as Vice President Mike Pence made the tiebreaking vote. The state&rsquo;s largest educator group, the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), offered its reaction to DeVos&rsquo;s newly acquired position as education secretary.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Many of our Texas teachers are concerned with DeVos&rsquo;s lack of experience and commitment to public education,&rdquo; ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann said. &ldquo;But the Senators have spoken. We hope DeVos will focus her energy on supporting the only school system that supports all children &mdash; the public school system. Privatizing our schools and pursuing vouchers isn&rsquo;t the answer. This will only work to gut an already underfunded public education system. We need to find an equitable way to support and fully fund our public schools. Our association will work collaboratively with DeVos and will be happy to connect her with Texas educators.&rdquo;</p>
<p>With more than 100,000 members, ATPE is the state&rsquo;s largest educator group and the voice of public education.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">###</p>
<p>The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) has been a strong voice for Texas educators since 1980. It is the leading educators&rsquo; association in Texas with more than 100,000 members statewide. With its strong collaborative philosophy, ATPE speaks for classroom teachers, administrators, future, retired and para-educators and works to create better opportunities for 5 million public schoolchildren. ATPE is the ally and the voice of Texas public education.</p>
State’s Largest Educator Group Weighs In on DeVos’s Confirmation
Download this press release (PDF)
February 7, 2017
With a 51-to-50 vote, the Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education today. This was an historic event, as Vice President Mike Pence made the tiebreaking vote. The state’s largest educator group, the Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE), offered its reaction to DeVos’s newly acquired position as education secretary.
“Many of our Texas teachers are concerned with DeVos’s lack of experience and commitment to public education,” ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann said. “But the Senators have spoken. We hope DeVos will focus her energy on supporting the only school system that supports all children — the public school system. Privatizing our schools and pursuing vouchers isn’t the answer. This will only work to gut an already underfunded public education system. We need to find an equitable way to support and fully fund our public schools. Our association will work collaboratively with DeVos and will be happy to connect her with Texas educators.”
With more than 100,000 members, ATPE is the state’s largest educator group and the voice of public education.
###
The Association of Texas Professional Educators (ATPE) has been a strong voice for Texas educators since 1980. It is the leading educators’ association in Texas with more than 100,000 members statewide. With its strong collaborative philosophy, ATPE speaks for classroom teachers, administrators, future, retired and para-educators and works to create better opportunities for 5 million public schoolchildren. ATPE is the ally and the voice of Texas public education.