I know we’ve all heard plenty of criticisms about President Donald Trump’s nominees for different offices. But his nominee for Secretary of Education should be one we all pay attention to — not roll our eyes at, considering we are all in the education system.

Businesswoman Betsy DeVos is the next possible Secretary of Education nominated for the Trump Administration.

DeVos has been involved in politics — not education. Most notably, she was the Chair of the Michigan Republican Party. As the chairwoman, she worked to privatize public education by creating programs and attempting to pass laws that use public funds to pay for private school tuition in the form of vouchers.

She also started the spread of charter schools in Michigan in an effort to help improve students’ education — the charter schools’ test scores in math and reading are still below the state average.

She clearly doesn’t know what she is doing.

DeVos didn’t even read up on the subject before her Senate confirmation hearing on Jan. 17, 2017.

Most of her answers weren’t even answers — when directly asked a yes or no question she couldn’t come up with a blunt ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’

One of the key issues within education is the debate between growth and proficiency. Growth is defined by a student’s improvement, whereas proficiency is defined by a student’s overall score. DeVos hadn’t even been familiar with this at all — and this lady is a nominee? For the Secretary of Education?

What was Trump thinking when nominating her? He wasn’t.

In addition to her stating that guns should be allowed in schools for “protection against bears,” she also said that education for disabled students is a state — not federal — issue. Again, a wishy-washy answer most likely to avoid talking about how she thinks people with disabilities should be treated.

If she becomes Secretary of Education, will public schools have to provide an education for disabled children out of their own pockets? Or will disabled children have to be turned away?

DeVos also believed that within the last eight years the student debt increased by 980 percent, when it actually increased only by 118 percent.

I swear the Trump Administration must have a jar of alternative facts — no wait, they’re just pulling them out of thin air.

It was also mentioned in the hearing that she had donated money to groups that support conversion therapy for members of the LGBT community.

After more research into the matter, it turns out she has donated $5.7 million to a group called Focus on the Family, which — you wouldn’t believe it — supports conversion therapy.

Here at BV, we are always taught to be accepting of others. Public schools cannot and should not discriminate based on race, gender or sexual orientation.

If DeVos becomes Secretary of Education, will that be allowed? Will the Gay-Straight Alliances in schools across the country be forced to disband?

After all these strikes against her, why on Earth is she the nominee for the Secretary of Education?

It’s simple: she and her family have donated at least $200 million to the Republican Party.

Despite these contributions, the Republican Senators must know that she is an unacceptable candidate. Before the vote on her confirmation, they need to get their heads out of their wallets and focus on what’s best for America’s future generations.

Information from: Washingtonpost.com; The74million.org; Politifact.com