Betsy DeVos expected to visit SC school. But it won’t be her only stop, source says

Betsy DeVos is slated to visit South Carolina next month — her first trip to the Palmetto State as the chief of U.S. schools.

But as of Monday afternoon, it still was unclear why she is coming to Mount Pleasant’s Laing Middle School of Science and Technology on Sept. 11. The news was first reported by the Charleston Post and Courier.

A source with knowledge of DeVos’ plans said the school visit will not be the secretary’s only stop during her time in South Carolina. But no more details were available Monday afternoon.

In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman for the Charleston County School District said Monday that Devos’ office reached out directly to the school, not the district itself, to schedule the visit.

“Neither the State Department of Education nor the Charleston County School District were contacted prior to Secretary DeVos reaching out to schools,” said Charleston County School District spokeswoman Erica Taylor.

“In our district, principals have the autonomy to organize and plan school-based events; and at this time, at least one CCSD school has tentatively accepted the request for Secretary DeVos to visit. District leadership will support our school leader(s) as appropriate if needed.”

A spokesman with the S.C. Department of Education said the state agency had no contact from DeVos’ office about her visit.

On its Facebook page, Laing Middle said it did not have an official confirmation of Devos’ visit. Once the school receives more information, parents and stakeholders will be told, the school’s post said. A school official was not immediately available for comment.

The September visit will be DeVos’ first to South Carolina as the U.S. secretary of education. Arne Duncan paid Charleston a visit when he was the U.S. Education chief under the Obama administration.

DeVos’ deputy secretary is former S.C. Education Superintendent Mick Zais.

Since her confirmation in 2017, the school-choice advocate and wealthy GOP donor from Michigan has received a chilly welcome from many education advocates and Democrats. In February 2017, protestors shouted at DeVos and barred her from entering a side door at a Washington, D.C., public middle school.

She has faced intense scrutiny over her office’s handling of complaints against for-profit colleges and school civil rights investigations.

Advocates again slammed DeVos last week after the New York Times first reported that the U.S. Education Department is mulling whether to allow states to request federal money to buy guns for school educators.

This story was originally published August 27, 2018 at 2:47 PM.