DeVos declines education writers’ invite

When the nation’s education reporters descend on Washington, D.C., later this month, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos will be a no-show.

DeVos, President Trump’s controversial pick to head the U.S. Department of Education, has declined an invitation to speak at the Education Writers Association’s National Seminar.

“EWA has been privileged to hear from every previous education secretary, dating to the Carter administration,” the EWA said in a message to its members. “But we hope (DeVos) will make herself available to the nation’s education journalists in the coming months and join us at EWA’s 2018 National Seminar.”

John King, the Obama administration’s lame-duck education secretary, spoke at a luncheon at EWA’s 2016 seminar in Boston, fielding questions from reporters for the better part of an hour.

This year’s EWA seminar will be held from May 31 through June 2 at Georgetown University.

Idaho Education News managing editor Jennifer Swindell and Eastern Idaho reporter Devin Bodkin will be among the attendees. Idaho Education News staffers have attended past EWA national seminars, as well as seminars on Common Core and data-driven education reporting.

More about DeVos’ no-show from the Washington Post.

 

Kevin Richert

Kevin Richert

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 30 years of experience in Idaho journalism. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television and "Idaho Matters" on Boise State Public Radio. Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KevinRichert. He can be reached at [email protected]

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