Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has previously said she would “not legislate via fiat” from her department — a sentiment she echoed on Friday when asked if she would tell schools how to spend federal funds, including in their decisions to arm teachers or pay for firearms training.
“Let me be clear: I have no intention of taking any action concerning the purchase of firearms or firearms training for school staff under the [Elementary and Secondary Education Act],” DeVos wrote in a letter to Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), who sits on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
The New York Times had written a report on August 22 claiming the Education Secretary was working to determine whether schools should be able to use federal funds to purchase guns and training for teachers. The Times report cites anonymous sources, and was quickly denounced by Education officials on the record. DeVos’ letter is the latest pushback from the Department to squash rumors that they were considering such a decision.
DeVos also wrote that schools had “substantial flexibility” in how they use federal funds and that she would not make those decisions for them.
“Congress did not authorize me or the Department to make those decisions,” DeVos wrote. “As I have stated publicly on numerous occasions since I was nominated for this position, I will not legislate via fiat from the Department.”
The letter was posted to the Department’s Twitter account.