On Wednesday, November 23^rd, Donald Trump revealed the person he has lined up to be the next Secretary of Education of the United States: Betsy DeVos. DeVos is currently the chairman of the American Federation for Children, which advocates for the use of tools such as school vouchers to promote the “school choice” movement.

This movement that DeVos is so heavily involved in is based upon the principle that parents should get to choose where they send their children to school, regardless of their socioeconomic status. The tools that are listed on her organization’s website include school vouchers, scholarship tax credits, and education savings accounts. The option that is most heard of lschool vouchers, and it’s therefore important to be educated on why DeVos supports them and what they can mean for the United States education system.

You can think of school vouchers as scholarships for parents of children that cannot afford to choose where to send them to school. This is argued to be particularly important for competition between public and private schools, making school want to outperform the other. School vouchers are focused more towards promoting private education rather than government-funded public education. Private schools, after all, can offer more specialized opportunities (including arts, athletics, and religion) and rigorous, customizable curriculums.

The American Federation for Children’s website mentions that “There are 21 school voucher programs enacted across the country, and research has demonstrated that vouchers increase student achievement, boost graduation rates, and help public schools improve. They also lead to high parental satisfaction rates.” However, no sources were cited with these remarks. On the other hand, an article from the Journal Sentinel from Milwaukee, Wisconsin stated that scores from students in their school choice program performed worse than or similarly to students in the Milwaukee public schools. This is significant because this school choice program is the longest running program of its kind in the United States at over 25 years old.

In addition, these vouchers will mean that public school funding is further decreased. Why is this a problem? Think of it this way: public schools are for the public, so they are by law required to let in anyone and everyone who lives within the district. Private schools, on the other hand, are not bound to this same requirement. Discrimination in private schools can therefore not only slip through the cracks more easily (because there is no true government involvement), but can also occur without any real penalty for the school.

It’s important to see both sides of the arguments for school vouchers and the school choice movement. A lot of Facebook posts have been showing this image of DeVos with lots of assumed-negative facts about her. However, there is a lot that Betsy DeVos has done that is admirable. She’s been a mentor to at-risk elementary school children through the Kids Hope USA program. She’s been active in politics for over 35 years. Her family—a family of billionaires—has given back to many charities, arts organizations, and hospitals to support children and other community members. She’s been working on education issues for almost 30 years. She believes that “every child, no matter their zip code or their parents’ jobs, deserves access to a quality education.”

I may personally see eye-to-eye on every issue with her, but I for one am not going to assume anything negative about her upcoming policies and opinions until she’s given the chance to do wrong or right. I truly believe that if we work together, America and its education system will thrive.