[applause] >> good evening everyone. my name is archon fung and in the academic dean of the harvard kennedy school. tonight we're joined by two professor, and a very special j guest to explore the critical question of how to improve our education system. in particular should we address the challenges of our education system by shifting resources from school districts to parents by giving them tax dollars to choose whether to send their children to public schools, charter schools, or privates? this is the latest chapter in a debate that's been going on for sometime. milton friedman friedman developed the idea of choice in his 1955 essay though role of government in education, policy makers including our special guest here tonight develop these programs into experiments in the 1980s and 1990s.

given that this debate has been going on for 60 years, more than 60 years, why did 1900 people signed a facebook page to protest tonight the event? the controversy surrounding this forum reflects a large and profound divisions in american politics and society today. this country is more divided now been it has been in many decades. many people on all sides feel fearful and deeply threatened. for educators this is an especially sad moment because in has made many people stop listening to each other. and this time of division what we need most is to listen and understand one another instead of circling the wagons into our own echo chambers. the kennedy school is all aboutf understanding differences and building bridges, but creating an inclusive space now especially difficult because any people from all sides would

rather shut each other down rather than hear what one another are saying. i'm sure many people have followed the controversy over collin kaepernick and other nfl football league players and staff who would be kneeling during the playing of the national anthem. what are they saying? from the farms of virginia to the halls of philadelphia to the field at gettysburg, the idea that we are all created equal is the vizslas of american aspirations. these americans in silently kneeling reminder our fellow citizens how we're all falling short of that ideal because some of us are imprisoned or killed at much higher rates than others. others. yet many do you their very speech as un-american. many people on the left side of this political spectrum are also feeling here and threat that thm prevents them or listening to other views. any disturbing series of recent events we've seen students and activists shut down conservative speakers at several college

campuses over the past year. shutting people down is contrary to the values of this space and the harvard kennedy school. we encourage the exchange of ideas and different viewpoints, even if we do not agree, especially if we do not agree it is important to hear and not others in attendance to listen and speak as well. the practice of our forum ask these principe giving a speaker to articulate their views and then existing that they take questions and you the audience, people in his audience will as they always do have an opportunity to ask questions in the last portion of tonight event. i will ask the harvard university police to escort from the forum anyone who insists upon preventing others from speaking or hearing by disrupting this event. that is because our practice of dialogue and debate is critical. when you prevent others from speaking or hearing disagreeable views or when you yourself

refused to be challenged by those who disagree, it means that you are so sure that you rigright and so sure that they are wrong, that you have nothing to learn from them. but on an issue like school choice, how can anyone be so sure of themselves? when we look back years from now, we might see school choice as a salvation for disadvantaged learners. in dorchester, the southside of chicago or detroit michigan. a salvation that enables them to escape failing schools and seize the opportunity for a better life. school choice might enable educators to create the widest array of opportunities and pedagogy is for students. on the other hand, we may come to see the school choice came away to please the public and exploit uninformed pair to send their children to ineffective private schools while enriching the operators of those schools. still worse, we may come to see school choice as a misguided effort to abandon the dreams ofm

thomas jefferson and horse man for system, schools which americans from all backgrounds high and low born learn how to be citizens of a successful republic together. i do not presume to know how the future will judge us on this question for so many others. i do think looking at the evidence will help us all reach a better future, evidence about what kinds of traditional public charter-private school arrangements actually work. we will export these and other questions about education with our distinguished colic andeciau special guest tonight, professor paul peterson is a henry c shattuck professor of government and the director of the program on education policy and governance at harvard university. he's a senior fellow at the hoover institution at stanford university and senior editor of education net, a great journal of education policy. he's a member of the missing which academy, american academy of arts and sciences at the national academy of education. he has written many, many books

including saving schools from horace mann to virtual learning, go politics chicago style and city limits which is a pathbreaking study of urban politics and policy. elizabeth the boss is 1111 secretary of education of the united states pictures been involved in politics and education policy for more than 30 years in home state of michigan and nationwide. in interview with the philanthropy roundtable, she recounted how she first got engaged with education issues in a visit to potters house christian school in grand rapids. there she saw a school that it matters to create a safe, warm and rich educational learning environment for many low income children. she start helping individual students with their tuition, then supporting the school itself which her family still does through their philanthropy. this effort grew into larger philanthropic effort to provide a scholarship fund, and then she pursued this commitment to

choice in the public policy domain working to pass michigan's first charter school law in 1993. then as now she seeks to transform education systems to provide such choices for parents and students more broadly. her fierce advocacy of school choice has drawn equally fiercee criticism. the "new york times" wrote that it is hard to find anyone more passionate about the idea of steering public dollars away from traditional public schools than betsy devos. arsenic confirmation vote to become education secretary could not have been closer. it was split 50-50 with vice president pence breaking the time. so we have a lot about and controversial issues. i would be returning a bit later to moderate the question-and-answer time but for now please welcome to the john f. kennedy junior forumel professor paul peterson and secretary elizabeth devos. [applause]

>> thank you for that kind introduction.t and doug elmendorf, thank you for the opportunity. the kennedy school. click one of the -- but of all of american post secondary education. professor peterson, i look forward to our conversation but i first want to recognize the significant and influential contributions to the advancement of school choice you have made over the years. to both the program on education policy and governance here at harvard and education next, few scholars have left such indelible fingerprints on this critical conversation. thank you for continuing to facilitate that dialogue.t and a special thanks to president faust for a decade of leadership as president of this one of america's most finest institutions of higher learning. as she and how to prepare for the next apps, i was sure nothing but the best.

during cambridge there are many great people working on manyeatp great ideas to better the lives of all americans and people across the globe. that's been the case for a very long time. your graduates have gone on to shape culture and society, create new businesses and new technologies, help cure diseasec and yes, lead governments at all levels around the globe. it's a privilege to be at the kennedy school. i don't really want to talk about my age, but president john f. kennedy is the first president i can personally remember, though i can't say i remember all that much. .. i do know that president kenny understood the proper role of that,ate, and once warned every time we try to shift that problem to the hands of the government, we are sacrificing the liberties of our people. president kennedy had it right. despite the fact that we disregarded his observation, he

is still right today. one of the pernicious effects of the growth of government is that people worry less about each other. thin thinking their worries are noww in the hands of so-called experts in washington. there is perhaps no better example than our current education system. many inside and outside ofe than government insist the government system is best equipped to educate children. in that fantasy scenario, the state replaces the family, thech schoolhouse because the home and the child becomes the constituent. not too long ago the american federation for teachers tweeted at me, the union wrote betsy devos is public should invest in individual students. no, we should invest in a system of great public schools for all kids. a the union bosses made it clear

they care more about a system, one created in the 1800s then they do about students. their focus is on school buildings instead of schoolkids. isn't education supposed to be about kids? education is an investment in individual students. that is why funding and focusme should follow the students, noti the other way around. i have been on the job now for some time and i came into office with a core belief. it is the unalienable rights and responsibility of parents to choose the learning environment that best meets their child unique, individual needs. i am even more convinced of that today. this symposium rightly asks us to consider the future of schoot choice. the current reality is the vast majority of futures in america today are left to chance, not te choice.

the world got to see what many of us already knew in the film waiting for superman. parents who want to create theie child from a feeling school are sometimes allowed by the system to enter a lottery for only a few seats in a different school. even today thousands of children by four limited openings. the students are numbered and often represented as plastic balls rolling around in a cage as if children were part of a bingo game. i suggest that any sycophants of the system or skeptic of choice visit one of these lotteries. watch the faces of these paren parents, many of whom are struggling to get by every day. watch their faces hidden in their hands are covered in tears because they didn't win a new future for their son or daughter. this scene is heart wrenching

and it is downright disgraceful. children's futures aren't to be gambled. there are too many kids in a school that doesn't meet their needs and to many parents who are denied the fundamental right to decide the best way to educate their child. it is what makes me so passionate about changing this paradigm once and for all. now, i've been called the school choice secretary by some and i think it is meant as an insult but i wear it as a badge of honor.e. let's talk for a moment about what choice really is. school choice.private defenders of the system would have you believe it means vouchers, right? in charter schools and they say it means private schools or maybe even religious schools. it means for-profit schools and they say it means taking money from public schools, no accountability, no standards and the wild west and the market run amok. i am going to give it to them. they've done a mighty fine job

of setting the scene for that house of horrors in the press. they did so by trying to paint an indelible line forcing a false dichotomy. if you support giving parents any option, any say, you must therefore by the biometric post to public schools, public school teachers and students. yet nothing could be further from the truth. think about it. yes, food. probably a good time to think about it since it is just about dinnertime. like education we all need food to grow and thrive. we don't all want or need the exact same thing at the exact same time. what tastes good to me may not taste good to you. what is working for me right now might not work a year from now. accordingly, we choose how to

get past the food that meets our unique needs. think about how you eat. you could visit a grocery store or convenience store or a farmers market to buy food and cook at home. or you could visit a restaurant, maybe a sitdown place or maybe a fast food joint, may be a hybrid that combines the best of both. the department of education there aren't many restaurants but you know what? trucks started lining the streets to provide options. some are better than others and some are even local restaurants that have added contracts to their businesses to better meet their customers needs. now, if you visit one of those food trucks instead of a restaurant do you hate restaurants? or are you trying to put grocery stores out of business? no, you are simply making the right choice for you based on your individual needs at the time. just as in how you eat, education is not a binary choice.

being for equal access and opportunity, being for choice i. not being against anything. i am not for or against anyone type, one brand or one breed of school choice.am i'm not for any type of school over another. the definitions we have traditionally worked from have become tools that divide us. isn't the public made up of students in appearance? isn't public money really their money?y? taxpayers money?t everho and doesn't every school aim to serve a public good?ol a school that prepares its students to lead a successful live is a benefit to all of us. the definition of publicuc education should be to educate the public. that is why we should fight last about the word that comes before school. i suspect all of you here at

harvard, a private school, will take your education and contribute to the public good. when you chose to attend harvard did anyone suggest you are against public universities?he t no. you and your family sat down and figured out which education environment would be the best fit for you. you compared options and made an informed decision. no one seems to criticize that choice. no one thanks choice in higher education is wrong so why is it wrong in elementary, middle or high school? instead of dividing the public when it comes to education the focus should be on the end, not on the means. we should be for students, all students and that is why i amt prepared to give access to the learning environment that is right for their child.

i believe in the students and i trust parents. with that understanding of choice what does the future look like? i am not a creature of washington's i'm not afraid to say this. we do not know what the future of school choice looks like. that is not only something with which i am okay but something i celebrate and embrace. the future of choice should be whatever parents want for their children and the future of choice relies upon parents being empowered to make choices for their children. what this looks like the one family will be different from what an indiana family decides. and one choice what looks for one child will be different looks like for his or her own assembling. states are different, families are dynamic and children are unique. each should be free to pursue different avenues that lead each child to his or her fullest future.fu

that is why i wholeheartedly believe the future of choice does not begin with the new federal mandate from washington. that might sound counterintuitive to some coming from the us secretary of education but after eight months in washington and three decades working in a state, i know if washington tries to mandate choice all we will end up with is a mountain of mediocrity, spending any boast of bureaucracy to go along with it. washington does have an important supporting role to play in the future of choice. we can amplify the voices of those who want better for their kids. we can assist states who are working to further empower a parents and urge those who haven't. we don't need a new federal program to administer. washington and in particular the us department of education justt needs to get out of the way. that is because the real future

of choice is in the state. it is in their futures to shape and it is already underway today. i recently went on a tour of the heartland to visit the teachers, students were shaping their own futures. we called it the school to work because i wanted to highlight and learn from innovated educators who are breaking free of the standard mode to better meet the needs of their students. what i saw was encouraging. traditional public schools, charter public schools, independent private schools, parochial schools, from school and even a high school at as you and they were all different, all with unique approaches but what they all had in common was just that. it was a deliberate focus on serving their students. students and parents chose them. what worked in those schools for the students might not work everywhere and it might not work for you.

but it works for them and that is the future of school choice. there was another common characteristic of these very diverse schools shared in the embraced doing right by their students without anyone in washington giving them a permission slip to do so. more importantly, without anyone in washington telling them no. that is also the future of choice.. just as no wonder school regardless of its quality or rigor is the right fit for every student there is no magic, one-size-fits-all approach from washington dc or any state capital when it comes to education. the future of choice lies in tht state and in places i have been in the forefront of this effort for several years. like arizona, florida, indiana wisconsin and in places that are just now entering the arena like arkansas, mississippi, montana and even where some might have thought unthinkable, illinois.

today 26 states and the districe of columbia offer more than 20 different private school choice programs that allow parents more opportunity to access more educational options to serve their kids needs. while there are similarities, no two are the same. different states, different needs, different students with different solutions. i that is the future of choice. it is important for all of us to remember that we are not just talking about abstract theory or wild social experiment here. this is about putting people,ol putting parents and students above policies and politics. i have seen the tremendous impact of empowering parents and the corresponding impact of students up close and in person. i saw it again on my recent school to work. i heard it directly from the students, the parents, the teachers and administrators i had the privilege to meet.

one student at kansas city academy, a private art focused high school, put it bluntly. at case ca i feel like i fit in. i feel like i belong. i didn't have that in my other school. every student in america deserves a shot to experience that same thing. i have no doubt that this isn't just about feelings. it's also about learning and achievement. it's about putting students at the center of everything we do and time and time again studies have shown that more options reld better results for all students. just yesterday a new study was released by the urban institute that looks at florida's past credit scholarship program, a program that provides low income parents the opportunity to send their students to the school of choice. for this program was one of the first in the nation and today's

serves more than 100,000 students across the state. while previous studies have shown increased achievements fos scholarship recipients this study also found a significantly increased college attendance rate. further, this study demonstrated the longer a student participated in the choicece program the better their long-term educational outcomes. the data is encouraging but i didn't need another research paper to know the program worked. i have seen living. this little girl field girl t twice and she was on the path to dropping out just like her mother had and her brother had before her. thankfully, her grandmother found for the tax credit fellowship program and a small school that fit her needs. 10 she told me that nearly one week or ten days into attending that school she knew she had found a fit and she was on her way to

thriving. she graduated high school the first in the family to do so, graduated college and just this may earned her masters degree. she is living proof that living works. those s there are many more of her out there. hundreds of thousands more who don't have the same opportunities today. i firmly believe we as a nation stand at a crossroad, nearly everyone agrees that what we are doing now is not working and the data is quite clear in confirming that. we are in the middle of the pack, at best, compared to other nations. middle, average. those are not words with which i am comfortable describing the united states. it is not the future we should feel comfortable with offering our students or anything else. what do we do? what does the future hold? more funding? does zach fix the problem?

the data would show otherwise. [cheering and applause] again, the data would show otherwise. what the us spending significantly more than any other country in the developed world and without the student achievement to go along with it. we can keep doing what we've been doing for generations and keep expecting different resul results. that is as we no, the definition of insanity. or we can do something differe different. we can be bold. we can be unafraid. we can choose to do what is right, not because it is easy but because it is hard. many thought kennedy's words were merely a dream. some even thought they werell dangerous. his vision and determination

made them a reality and that is the reality we still reap the benefits of today. if we can put a man on the moon, surely we can put families in charge of their own destinies. we can rethink schools and i tht posit that we do that by embracing the future of education as one that is fully integrated choice into every decision we make. not choice translated as vouchers or charter schools or private schools or any other specified delivery mechanism, no, choice translated as giving every parent in this great land more control. more of a say in their child's future, more choices. the future of choice lies in trusting and empowering parents, all parents, not just those with power, prestige or financial wherewithal to make choices. no more choice for me but not for the from politicians in

washington. the future of choice lies in caring less about the word that comes before school and more about the individual students that school seeks to serve. the future of choice lies in funding and supporting individual students, not systems or buildings. the future of choice lies in allowing students to progress at their own pace, to take charge of their learning and recognizing them as the unique individuals they are. the future of choice lies in embracing learning, that fosters creativity, communication, collaboration and critical thinking. traits that will prepare students for further education and the workforce and for lifelong learning. the future of choice lies in recognizing america, the greatest country in the history of mankind, can and must do better for our students.

all of them. because we must do better for our future. our children are one 100% of our future.. they deserve one 100% of ourop effort. take you again for the opportunity to share my thoughts and i look forward to our conversation. [applause] >> madam secretary, thank you very much for joining us atat harvard. it is gracious of you to come. it is an honor to have you here in our midst.

you have focused so much of your time and energy over the years on education and i know that is a really important thing but some people say that unless we address the problems of poverty and malnourishment among so many children that education isn't going to have a chance. shouldn't those problems be given priority? >> that's a good question and i think obviously when we talk about focusing on individual children and supporting individual children the issues go beyond just issues of education but my focus has been on offering opportunities for all children to have a great education and i am a firm believer that if all parents are empowered with those same kind of opportunities we will see some significant changes in opportunity in general for those who have really faced generational poverty and who

have not had opportunity in our country. i believe this is the biggest barrier to opportunity ultimately is the lack of access to and the opportunity to choose the kind of education that works for their child. >> well, some people say we have 14000 schools in the district in this country and people can move to the community of their choice and they can choose their school by choosing the neighborhood which they live to live. don't we already have a school choice? >> officially, many families don't have that opportunity. they are stuck in the schools and to which they are assigned and they don't have the opportunity of moving somewhere else. i have heard many stories from families who wish that they could send their child to school other than the ones they are assigned and they don't have the economic means to make that decision. if they are empowered with choice than they are empowered

with the funds for their child to choose a school that will work. they will have opportunities that will be well beyond the ones that are right there in their assigned district. >> well, okay. i understand that that this broadens choice to people without means but aren't some parents better equipped to make those choices, more skilled and figure out how to navigate through a choice system? will they take advantage of that opportunity at the expense of others? they the mac i have met a lot of parents over the years that i have been working with and i think it is an insult to parents to suggest that they can't figure these things out. i think it is an insult to parents from low income situations that suggest that because of their economic situation they therefore either

can't figure things out or don't care about their children. it is an insult and i have never seen any parent that hasn't really truly wanted and loved their child and what better for their child. i think about the young woman i referred to in her case her mother was not capable of making a decision but she had a godmother in her life who cared about her and found a better option for her and she is out living in an opportunity like that can make. >> one of the arguments we here in massachusetts especially last year in the election campaign was that if you expand charter schools and to give parents more choice you will take money away from the public schools run by the district. what is your take on that? >> again, i'm trying to make the argument that we are funding students not funding their system.il

if students are empowered to go to a place that will work forppe them those environments will form up in support of the students and i think we get huno up on what word comes before school and we don't really think about the fact were talking about kids lives while we are arguing about systems and approaches to education thatento have worked for some but they are not working for all too many. my view is that empower parents to make those choices and the schools in the schools that are not able to keep attracted to their schools they will start to make their changes but we seen that in florida where the widest range of choices and in the district where the greatest

number of choices exist and students go to a wide variety of schools the traditional public schools there have actually improved as a result and i think ubiquitously there is a matter of state primarily to deal with and focus on. >> how rapidly should we expand our choice system? is there a pace that we shoul should -- it's very slow up until now. >> yesterday would be really good. [laughter] >> untrained seriously, we are losing thousands of thousands of kids every year and we can'tou wait any longer. we cannot wait any longer. we've been doing things the same way and expecting different results for a couple of decades and this was built on creative entrepreneurial risk taking ripo people and education is ripe for those types of people to solve

problems and meet the needs of the students. the rethink school store i thin- we went to all kinds of schools and to a place they were very focused on meeting the needs of the specific kids and they were open to say we are not for everybody and we don't expect everyone to want to come here. i think all schools should have that attitude and all schools should be focused on really rethinking how they can meet their student needs. >> what you think of the introduction of technology into the schools creating these funded learning programs? do you think this is a potential force to disrupt the system in a major way?de >> i think technology holds great potential and i have seen places where it hasn't been introduced particularly well and it's been mandated on top of something and that is probably not the right answer but again, i think we need to have a lot of

different approaches and be able to take root and see what ultimately will work for the most kids and that is not to suggest that moving from where t we are today that we should move to another scenario where it's very much the same only in a different approach or format.al i happen to think that personalized learning and mastery based competency approach learning holds greatld promise but i think that that might work for a lot of kids but it may not work for everybody. we shouldn't expect that everybody is going to learn in the future in the same way. >> you mention in your remarks that tax credit program has bees identified as quite successful at getting kids to college and i

like that because it was my student who did that study. i'd like to add that. [laughter] thank you for that. >> i was so pleased to see that come out. >> but there has been a lot of talk about federal tax credit program and are you going to announce the unveiling of a tax credit program? >> not here and not now.is [laughter] >> is there a hope that we can see this coming down the track? >> yes, there is certainly a lot of hope for that but as i said, if we go with a federal tax credit approach we need to ensure that it is not one that will create a whole another bureaucracy to administer and again, i really believe that states are best equipped in best positioned to address the broadest range of choice on the states and an individual state level and i think it is great to

see states taking this on ininio creative ways and i would hope that more states would embrace this notion and the ones that actually have it would expand their offering and get even more assertive about offering appearance more of these choic choices. >> i appreciate the fact that state and local governments areb responsible for schools but there is some and we do have a department of education. what are some of the commitments that you have been able to realize and i know it's only eight months into your term but can you sort of some of what you think are some of the most important things that have been done? >> obviously, the implementation of the every student succeeds act that congress passed late in this last session or last term is really important part of the

responsibility and the intention is that bill was to return a lot of flexibility and allow the states to become creativity and meet the students needs there. that process is underway and we have 35 or 37 more states who plan to approve and that is a big part of the k-12 focus at the department. right now we have been reviewing and in some cases either pausing or starting a new rulemaking process on a number of regulations related to higher education and that process is ongoing. we are also in the midst of a very big review of the department in general to look for ways to streamline and make more effective and efficient the work of the department and to also review all the regulations.

every administration there is more and more regulations piled on and very few times we take a step back and say what is relevant relevant today and we are committed to divest in as many of those as we possibly can. >> with respect to es as a, the every student succeeds act they asked for measuring something other than test scores and that is something that congress and they looked at chronic absenteeism. what is your thinking on that? >> well, you no, all of the states are coming up with different measures. i think that is an interesting approach. i am not sure that that is the right approach for the best approach but i will withhold judgment and let's see what the states results are. another thing to remember ispe that these plans are words on

paper. ttu the real proof will be in how they actually implement things e and a lot of the creativity or the flexibility that congress c intentionally built into the law is and will come in the implementation of these plans in the states. one of my goals is to continue to urge and encourage states to press things as far as they can. you no, take what opportunities you have and let's switch from being a compliant mentality which has really been the case over the last decade or two into one that is takes more ownershir around your education and in the state for which you are responsible. >> these are all fascinating comments that you have but i think i better turn the conversation over to to others

and let some of the students -- will you -- >> thank you secretary betsy devos. i know a lot of questions to ask and there are four microphones for the usual drill scatteredndt around the forum and let me remind everyone in the room of the importance of discourse and exchange and stability and most importantly allowing everyone to fully participate in this question and answer period. those listening, hearing and deeaking and the rules of the foreign of question-and-answer are designed to do that. the first rule for those who haven't been there is please identify yourself and the second is ask a question that is compact and brief and i'm afraid i will have to cut off anything like a lengthy statement and questions and questions and with a? one for every customer.

our people at the microphone -- yes, ma'am. >> hello. i'm a parent here and i don't know how many parents are inct o this room but i have children who have been in district schools, charter schools and parochial schools. i think all systems can work for us but i think as a whole most systems aren't working for us and they are not working for black parents like me and they're not working for parents who aren't rich and i'm going to assume you have good intentions really. so, i think there should be some government to make sure oure] systems are working for us because they never worked for my people. why do you thank you should have any say or control over settingk minimums of what that should look like systems on the wild wild west and systems are popping up.

>> what is the role in settingnc governments of sending rails so the systems function well for everyone. >> well, first of all let me thank you for asking that question and it is really greatt to hear about the fact that you have had experience with different schools and how many kids do you have? >> three. >> what grades are they in now? >> eleven -year-old and i have a. >> okay. great. my goal, my hope is that all parents like you and all others would have the power to choose a school that is right for your child. to have the funds to go to yourc child traditionally today thatnd go to a system rather than being directed and being directed by you that you would be able to say this school is not working

for my kid today and i'm going to find one that is working better. now, accompanying that there has to be a lot of great information available to parents to be able to know first of all what is the school approach to teaching and learning and secondly what are the results. how are kids doing go here. all of that information first and foremost needs to be transparent to parents so they can help inform your decision. it starts with you being empowered to make that choice and that decision for your child and we have lots -- i guarantee in this audience we have lots of families representatives from lots of families who are able to make those decisions because they have the economic means to do it. it is not right for some people to be able to choose and you not to be able to and yet we spend more and more money funneling through a system that tries to tell you we're going to do

better next year and then it doesn't. >> i'm sorry, i have to get to -- >> absolutely. i love to talk to parents. >> the gentleman here. >> hello. thank you for coming. a senior at the college but i've been lucky enough to takean classes with professor peterson on education policy here at the kennedy school. we looked at a large body of academic research that shows the effectiveness of charter schools, doctor programs, and other school choice programs. however, traditional public schools are still very much falling behind. how do we bring that accountability, transparency and choice that we've seen withct charter schools and vouchers and apply it to traditional public schools and what role does the federal government play in making the transition? >> can or can't? >> kent. >> nice to meet you. the every student succeeds act will help bring more information to individuals, schools will

have to report more information to parents and that is a good step but i think we have to go much further in many cases and again i will refer back to the school to her that i did a couple weeks ago. schools had thrown out what they had done before and had taken considered their student population they have and re- addressed their approach to helping students learn. the first i went to was in casper, wyoming. a traditional public school and the county that casper is in has opened district choice. they don't have any private school choice yet but they have opened district choice in the school has been run by teachers for 26 years and just within the last few years they switched to a mastery based competency approach to teaching and learning in the school.

they did so without anyone telling them they had to do that. as a community, they decided that was right for the students they were serving. the kids were thrilled and they loved visiting with them. if i had that opportunity when i was in school and there's probably a few others in here who could move as fast as you were able to in whatever subject or take as long as you needed in another subject, i think that kind of approach could have some revolutionary results for a lot of kids who are either getting bored to death or are getting left behind.us i would challenge all schools and all existing schools today to look seriously at some of these new approaches to making sure kids are engaged and that they are in their curiosity is not snuffed out by the time they're in third or great. >> thank you. >> up here in the balcony. >> my name is.

[inaudible] i'm also a dual degree candidate at the kennedy law school. for this i was a teacher both in district schools and in charters schools and as an educator and as a country we have agreed that keeping two states in schools is one of our prime values. making sure that every kid who walks into the school at the beginning of the day leaves healthy, happy, physically and emotionally safe. your administration is very busy since the beginning of the year and many of the policies the administration has passed make educators such as myself feel that we have fewer schools and school books to keeping kids in safe in the classroom. whether that is keeping trans students say or repealing title ix which makes it for sexual assault victims. [cheering and applause] or whether that is protecting families from predatoryy for-profit schools with low graduation rates and low

unemployment rates. [cheering and applause] so, can you talk about how your administration thanks that safety for all kids, especially our most vulnerable kids when you're thinking about passing or repealing policies. thank you very much. >> let me say first and foremost, i agree that one of the most important things we caa do is ensure that all kids have a safe and nurturing learning environments and i am committed to that and i know that everybody in the department of s education and frankly, the administration is committed to that, too. the policies that you have referred to are some of thes, regulations that you have preferred to, i think often with these issues we start talking past one another instead of talking about the issue itself. so, with respect to the transgender bathroom guidance, as you know, the whole legal

history on that issue is very complicated, difficult, unclear and uncertain. let's just say that with respect to any student that feels unsafe or discriminated against in their schools that is the last thing we want and the office for civil rights and the department of education continues to hearis and work with the schools that have any of those issues to deal with and we are committed toto doing that on behalf of the students, any student that has any issue of they feel is discriminatory. we are committed to dealing with that. with respect to the title ix sexual assault on campus issue as you know, we have taken steps to make a rulemaking process that will actually is going to go about this in the right way.w

i credit the former administration for having raised the issue of campus sexual assault to a level where we are talking it's not an issue that we will be sweeping under thee rug or putting into the back room of a college administration and it should not be that way. i have said it before and i will say it again that one sexual assault is one too many. by the same token one student that is denied due process is one too many. we need to ensure that that policy and that framework is there to all students and were committed to doing that. >> one more question up here. >> i'm a masters in administration here the kennedye school. you are a billionaire with lots and lots of investments and the so-called school choice movemen. is a way to open the floodgates for corporate interest to make money off of the back of students.

how much do you expect your net worth to increase as a result of your policy choices? and to your friends on wall street like the coke brothers about the potential of getting rich off the back of students. >> you can choose not to answer that, secretary. >> i have been involved with education choice for 30 years and i have written lots of checks to support giving parenti and options to choose the school of choice and the balance of the on my income has gone very much the other way and will continue to do so. [applause] i am committed to ensuring every child, every child has the opportunity to get an great education and that means every child, not just rich kids but

not just kids who parents are politicians and can get them into the right schools under the right circumstances but every kid.ge >> are you suggesting that -- >> one. customer. i know a lot are at the mike's were almost out of time. we'll do a lightning round more questions. thirty seconds each, no more and then the secretary can choose to answer whichever one she wants to deal with. [laughter] three rounds. [crowd boos] this event is scheduled to go to 7:00 p.m. and she has to go. i will remain for as long as people want to talk.brie we have time for a lightning round of three questions, very brief, beginning with you. >> thank you very much for being here tonight. i'm caroline and a student at harvard law school. as a graduate of mit, i truly believe in the power of stem education to prepare the rising generation from careers. i am aware of your department's announcements of millions of

dollars to support stem medication. how can that investment and your personal involvement ensure that more young people and specifically young women pursue careers in stem. >> i will collect two more and -- >> hello. the first year student and a former high school math teacher in new orleans. to you mentioned that every child in education is important and i share that view. my question is about the $1 billion, title i funds that you propose to be portable to allow for more choice. what concrete steps will you take to ensure that low income district schools still receive the school support they need to raise the bar for children who can't or don't? >> okay. about the funds and low income communities and schools of their health. third question and then i will turn it over to the secretary.

>> hello. i'm a senior at the college and i'm from grand rapids, michigan. my question relates to michigan. you mentioned that taxpayeril dollars belong to taxpayers and individual families thanks in part to your advocacy in michigan we lead the nation in for-profit schools, paired with some of the weakest accountability laws. i in 2014 review of michigan charter schools in the detroit area found widespread wasteful spending, corruption, poor student performance and little transparency with corporations profiting. have a this is at the expense of michigan students especially those in detroit. given the fact that in michigan students have a lot of choice but not good choices and corporations are profiting from that white do you think that choice is appropriate for the nation? [cheering and applause] >> stem, women, charter schools in michigan. >> i'm going to go with charter schools, first. first of all, of the students

that are still left in the city of detroit, 49% of them. [crowd boos] excuse me, everybody who has had means and wants to move elsewhere has moved outside of the city of detroit. the students that are there, 49% of them have chosen to go to charter schools. no one is forcing them to go to charter schools. of the traditional public schools in detroit, not one ofof them has ever been closed down because of performance, not one. yet, there have been over 20 charter schools closed. i just cite those statistics and ask you to think about that. our and is there room for improvement? absolutely but the reality is that of kids going to charter schools in michigan and in the city of detroit they are gaining three or four months more every year over their public school counterparts. so, there is a difference. now, billion dollars no longerut

in the budget but that would have been an optional program for states to embrace if they wanted to go with student funding formula in their state to provide parents more choices. it was a choice. stem, great for young women to be encouraged to pursue stem related careers with a special emphasis on computer science which has not traditionally been discussed as part of stem more broadly and we are looking forward to rolling out the opportunity for young kids to get really more opportunities to engage in some subjects and particularly young girls because science is cool and math is cool and we need to make sure they understand that in no the opportunities for the long-term. >> thank you very much.

[applause] i just want to take a minute to close the evening. i've been to many forum events in this forum event there has been the most strongly held and widely held set of views that i have experienced in a forum and i think that contacts like thatr in conversation like we just had our very difficult and i think we did a reasonable and good job of allowing this exchange. i want to think secretary divorce that we have a lot of poise and courage. thank you for coming here. thank you for this opportunity and for an extremely engaging conversation on one of the most important policy topics there is which is how to educate our next generation.

thank you very much. [applause] >> just a short time ago president trump and the first lady observed a moment of silence for the 58 people who were killed. more than 500 injured in the shooting in las vegas last night. you can watch the moment of silence that was observed in the white house online that c-span .org. >> both chambers of congress in session today and how has spent most of the week debating the budget resolution and they will consider a bill that will ban abortion after 20 weeks. life health coverage over on c-span. the senate gaveling in shortly at 3:00 p.m. eastern time for the nomination of the fcc chairman. you can watch the debate here on c-span2. our live coverage continues later today as the international

institute for strategic studies posted a discussion on the growth of isis and whether it could have been prevented if the us has made different policy choices. you can also stream that discussion live online and c-span .org or listen live using the free c-span radio app. >> tonight on "the communicators". >> 5g will open up a complete new release of innovation in the market. it will give extremely fast speed so you'll be able to use 100 times what you use right now on your smart phone or your tablet. >> prize in a senior vice president talks about competition in the wireless industry, net neutrality and 5g deployment. she is interviewed by political technology reporter. >> do you think that the us has the right of the regulatory framework for 5g making sure that we are first and getting it out there? >> we've done a good job on the spectrum so the c