Betsy DeVos Criticizes Professors in Remarks to Conservative Conference

Betsy DeVos, the U.S. education secretary, said that university faculty members “ominously” tell college students what to think, according to her prepared remarks for a speech on Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference.

In the remarks, Ms. DeVos said that college students were also responsible for fighting the “education establishment.”

“The faculty, from adjunct professors to deans, tell you what to do, what to say, and more ominously, what to think. They say that if you voted for Donald Trump, you’re a threat to the university community,” read the remarks. “But the real threat is silencing the First Amendment rights of people with whom you disagree.”

She added that the Department of Education should not control students’ decisions more than they do themselves, per the remarks, saying she wants students, parents, and communities to be in power.

Ms. DeVos is one of several speakers in the Trump administration to address the conference’s annual meeting.