If the American education system has any chance of improving its international standing, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has got to go. All students deserve an equal opportunity at a great education, and Betsy DeVos’ vision is not in the best interest of the general population. DeVos maintains an extreme bias toward exclusive, privatized education. We need a representative who experienced first-hand the struggles of the current educational system, not someone born into exorbitant wealth.

There are many schooling options, including public, private and chartered. These schools are governed by a wide array of religious or ideological affiliations. With the multitude of options, it is challenging for the government to implement strong general academic curricula. They instead rely on controversial and flawed measures to regulate curricula, such as standardized testing programs strengthened by former president George Bush’s “No Child Left Behind.” DeVos wants to exacerbate these challenges and further divide the American education system by wealth and location.

Betsy DeVos made headlines when she was initially nominated because of her seeming lack of qualifications. DeVos displayed her lack of knowledge in her Congressional hearing, unable to answer questions about proficiency vs. growth and the “Disabilities Education Act.” She did not even know that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was federal law.

Raised by an extremely affluent family, DeVos attended private schools and never had to interact personally with the public school system. Her upbringing is reflected in her policies, which undercut already underfunded public schools.

“DeVos sought to cut $9.2 billion from the department’s budget of $68.2 billion, eliminating teacher training and college-prep programs for impoverished children while investing heavily to expand school choice through increasing funds for charter schools and possibly offering vouchers for private schools,” according to an article by The Washington Post. According to Huffington Post, only 10 percent of students in the U.S. go to private schools.

DeVos’ policies demonstrate an all-too-familiar trend, making lives better for the top 1 percent of the population and leaving the rest of the country further and further behind, trying desperately to catch up. DeVos’s educational system stresses the importance of charter schools, which by definition admit far fewer students than public schools and sometimes limit themselves to wealthier students. Students in impoverished areas might have to rely on charter school lottery systems to attend a functioning school, while the majority of students who don’t make it into a charter have to attend underfunded and ignored public schools. I was fortunate to attend public schools that left me satisfied with my education, but many public school students don’t have the privilege of attending a public school with effective college prep programs and AP classes.

DeVos’ recent interview on 60 Minutes has returned her to media scrutiny. During her interview, DeVos admitted she intentionally did not visit underperforming schools in her home state, Michigan. But why, if you are advocating for increased reform to help improve the educational system, wouldn’t you visit the schools that needed the most help? There is a clear disconnect between DeVos’ vision of an improved educational system for all and what she does behind the scenes.

Time and time again, DeVos has demonstrated her lack of interest in underprivileged students. She is constantly looking to funnel money meant for public schools into private and charter schools, leaving those at the lower end of the socio-economic chain stranded in underfunded and underperforming schools. She shows a lack of knowledge about what is really going on in schools, instead saying schools need guns to protect students from grizzly bears.