Former Obama Secretary of Education Arne Duncan criticized President Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Host Katy Tur asked, “There’s already an economic and big gap between some students at schools. There’s a lot of inequality among students. How do you make sure that the kids who are already at risk of getting left behind don’t actually get left behind in this scenario?”

Duncan said, “Yeah, that’s exactly the right question. And schools aren’t just schools. They’re not just places to get an education anymore. They are truly social safety nets. And in many places, kids are receiving one, two, even three meals a day. We have at least 30 million children around the country who rely on schools as a prime source for their nutrition, for their meals. And again, so those challenges are real. Anytime things are hard, the have-nots, those who are struggling, have a much harder time than those that are a little bit more privileged. And so, again, what I’m heartened by is to see how hard people are working together to make sure kids are fed. So school superintendents are on this. We did a conference call this morning with a number of non-profits who are working so hard in this space.”

Tur asked, “If you could get on the line with Betsy DeVos right now, what advice would you be giving her?”

Duncan responded, “I don’t quite know what they’re doing there at the federal level. And there’s this lack of credibility, a lack of commitment, a lack of seriousness, a lack of honesty at the federal level. At the state and local level, I see people with a huge heart, huge commitment, working really, really hard. That’s what my entire focus is. We’re starting a weekly call in terms of educating older kids as well as our younger babies. People could not be working harder, could not be more committed and more compassionate. This isn’t just about an education. This is really about taking kids and families at a time of tremendous crisis, worry, and anxiety, and we have fantastic leaders who are all in to do that to the best of their ability.”

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