What鈥檚 the current direction of federal education policy? We went to the most-recent former leader of federal education policy to get his opinion.
On Wednesday, Education Week correspondent Kavitha Cardoza sat down with former U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. to talk about school choice, President Donald Trump鈥檚 proposed education budget, what鈥檚 needed to improve public education, and other matters.
In the Facebook Live discussion, King sharply criticized the budget blueprint鈥檚 proposed elimination of federal support for nationwide after-school and teacher-training programs, as well as reductions in programs designed to aid college students from low-income backgrounds.
鈥淭his budget is really an assault on the American Dream,鈥� King said, adding that in his opinion there鈥檚 鈥済ood choice鈥� and 鈥渂ad choice鈥� in terms of educational options.
The Trump administration and Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have said they want a change in philosophy in Washington in order to give states and districts more control of education policy.
And in contrast to DeVos, King said he was 鈥渧ery skeptical鈥� about the efficacy of vouchers, and that they don鈥檛 really contribute to work that鈥檚 needed to improve public schools.
Watch the full video below: