Betsey DeVos Coming To Bellevue This Week; Protests Planned

BELLEVUE, WA - Two well-known conservative figures will appear in Bellevue Friday at the Washington Policy Center's annual dinner. Attendees are paying at least $350 per ticket to hear from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Fox News broadcaster Neil Cavuto.

Protesters, however, are planning to rally outside the venue in opposition to DeVos.

"As communities, we MUST keep our education systems open and available to EACH AND EVERY child! OUR COMMUNITIES are the stakeholders of our public educational system - NOT corporations, NOT billionaires and NOT private voucher systems!" reads the description of a rally organized by the Equity in Education Coalition.

DeVos, a billionaire and former head of the Michigan Republican Party, has been controversial since President Donald Trump nominated her six months ago. DeVos has advocated for alternatives to traditional public schools, like charter and online schools. Charter schools got permission to operate in Washington after a 2012 referendum, but their presence here has been opposed by teacher unions and other education groups.

Most recently, DeVos announced the Department of Education would review and eventually rescind an Obama-era policy on campus sexual assault. In 2011, the Department of Education sent a "dear colleague" letter to colleges that receive Title IX funding with stricter guidance on how to handle sexual assault complaints.

The letter was sent as reports of campus sexual assault spiked, with an estimated 1 in 5 women experiencing an assault at college, according to the National Institute of Justice. DeVos has said she is concerned the Obama-era approach is unfair to people accused of sexual assault.

The Seattle Times on Sunday reported that some 30 groups will be protesting outside the Hyatt-Regency Bellevue, 900 Bellevue Way Northeast. The event begins at 6 p.m.

The Washington Policy Center held a dinner in Eastern Washington on Sept. 27 featuring Brexit advocate Nigel Farage and Rebecca Friedrichs, a California teacher who went to the Supreme Court seeking to change how union dues are collected.

Photo: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 at the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference on Mackinac Island, Mich.

Image via David Eggert/Associated Press