Washington (CNN) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Tuesday addressed the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in Texas, telling House lawmakers the shooting "was only the most recent, devastating reminder that our nation must come together to address the underlying issues that create a culture of violence."

"Our commitment to every student's success is one we must renew every day, but first we must ensure our children are safe at school," she said.

DeVos also said the school safety commission she oversees, which was created in the wake of the Parkland, Florida, shooting earlier this year, "looks forward to delivering best practices and findings by year's end" and gave lawmakers some details of the group's most recent meeting last week. She described that meeting as "one of the first broader listening sessions" and said members heard from parents of students that had been killed in school shootings.

She stressed that the "primary responsibility for the physical security of schools rests with states and local communities, and made no mention of gun measures or reforms.

DeVos's Capitol Hill testimony Tuesday marked her fifth time testifying before congressional lawmakers and comes on the heels of a trip to New York in which she was criticized for not visiting any public schools. Instead, DeVos toured two Orthodox Jewish schools and spoke in support of public funding for religious schools.

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