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WASHINGTON – Secretary of State for Education Betsy DeVos has left it to Congress to decide whether states can use federal funds to buy guns for their schools, pushing Democrats to Congress to restrict these funds.
The Conservatives said Ms. DeVos' position was consistent with her defense of local school control. But Democrats and human rights defenders have denounced the decision as a tacit approval of federally-funded firearms in schools, and federal political experts have dismissed the move as a resignation from the government's primary role. help districts manage the federal bureaucracy.
The Department of Education questioned whether school districts could benefit from a $ 1 billion program for education and enrichment programs after states have asked whether school safety measures But Ms. DeVos essentially referred the matter to Congress, which wrote the law that created the program but remained silent on gun purchases.
Congressional Democrats are considering calling for wording in an end-of-year bill that would specifically ban the use of firearms subsidies.
Last week, representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, the Democratic Representative of the Credit Subcommittee that funds the Education Department, urged negotiators to say what Ms. DeVos was not going to do. "She should say that this money is not there for guns in the classrooms," Ms. DeLauro said. "We have to make the most of a bad situation. We must ensure that the best policy moves forward in the circumstances. "
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers, Ms. DeVos wrote that she had "no intention to take any action regarding the purchase of firearms or firearms training for school staff" with the money. allocated in the federal law on education, the law Every Student Succeeds.
Ms. DeVos's response came after a week of public reaction following the revelation that officials of the Department of Education had been assessing for months that it was necessary to allow states to use a grant program, called the Student Aid Program and Program. School Enrichment, or Title IV-A, to buy weapons. Ms. DeVos wrote that while the law allows states "substantial flexibility" to spend funds according to their local needs, "Congress has neither authorized nor authorized the ministry to make these decisions."
Republicans supported the department's position that Ms. DeVos' role is not to rule on existing law.
But Virginia representative Robert C. Scott, who wrote a letter signed by more than 170 House Democrats, asking Ms. DeVos to state her intent, disagreed. On Tuesday, he implored his colleagues to include bans in the expense bill.
"By refusing to act, Secretary DeVos sets up a new dangerous policy; the secretary allows the use of funds to arm teachers, "said Scott in the House. "She is now pointing the finger at Congress, asking us to clarify our intent. But the intention of the Congress is already clear. "
Meanwhile, states seek to stay out of cross-fire politics in Washington.
Texas, which sent the initial investigation for review by the Department of Education, said its Department of National Education was no longer seeking to provide "school district guidance on this issue".
The retreat did not surprise policy experts who said local education leaders were in a precarious situation. They turn to the education department for advice – or what the department calls "technical assistance" – to ensure that they meet the program requirements. The Department of Education also monitors and verifies the expenditures of federal grants and, in cases where they have been found to be non-compliant, districts have had to return money.
"By not clarifying what is acceptable or unacceptable, it becomes harder to implement a program that meets the standard of success and compliance when you do not know what you are measuring," said Noelle Ellerson Ng, Director. associated executive. AASA policy, the Association of School Superintendents, opposes the use of federal firearms subsidies.
Efforts to add bans to the Education Department's budget can be difficult, as leading Republicans have been disappointed by the idea that Congress needs to clarify the law.
Senator Lamar Alexander, a Republican from Tennessee, said federal grants give "states, not the US Secretary of Education, the power to spend federal funds to create conditions for safe schooling."
A spokeswoman for Republican representative Virginia Foxx of North Carolina and chair of the House Education Committee, said she was not in agreement with the fact that the language of prohibition should be added. "We always think the best way to protect children is to give local school districts the means to do what they see fit," she said.
More than 40 senators, led by Senator Patty Murray of Washington, also sent Ms. DeVos a letter opposing the idea of allowing states to buy guns with grants. Murray will also advocate a ban language in credit legislation, a spokeswoman said.
Chad Wyen, superintendent of the Mad River School District in Ohio, who provides trained personnel with access to firearms, said that to date he has spent $ 82,500 in federal funding for a teacher. health screening and treatment for grade 7 and 12 students and "trauma training".
But he said he would be happy to use more federal funds for school safety. The school district has a small tax base, one of the lowest per student spending in Ohio, and is 80% funded by the federal government and the state. District start-up costs for its skilled "response team" were $ 35,000, consisting of 28 firearms, ammunition, insurance and safes. Recurring costs are approximately $ 18,000.
"It would be nice to have more flexibility, because if it could pay for the training for the response team and the travel time, it could save me $ 10,000," Wyen said. "It would definitely be useful to be a community like ours."
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