(CNN) As the Senate prepares to vote on the nomination of Betsy DeVos for secretary of education, opposition has primarily focused on questions of her basic competence. The limited scope of DeVos' education policy experience has raised questions for many about whether she is suited to run the federal agency charged with making American public education first-rate for all children. Racial animus was a primary catalyst of the move toward private and religious K-12 education almost 50 years ago, and racial segregation remains a dominant factor in all schooling, public and private, today. DeVos' track record suggests that as secretary, she will do little to combat these trends. The backlash, now infamous but perhaps too familiar even today, was fierce.

Source: CNN February 05, 2017 22:34 UTC