Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on Monday pledged to pick an education secretary with public school teaching experience if she’s elected president, vowing to turn the page from the tenure of current Secretary Betsy DeVos.

“I will name, as president of the United States, a secretary of education who has been a public school teacher,” the Massachusetts Democrat and 2020 presidential candidate said at an event in Philadelphia hosted by the American Federation of Teachers. “No more Betsy DeVos.”

“I want someone who is committed to public education,” she said. “I want someone who has seen tattered textbooks or tried to manage when there are too many kids in a classroom.”

Ms. Warren, a former special needs teacher, had pledged to appoint a “former public school teacher” to the position in a campaign email earlier Monday.

In the email, she called Ms. DeVos, a longtime school choice advocate, “the worst Secretary of Education we’ve seen.”

Ms. Warren has also introduced education policy proposals to cancel debt for 95 percent of Americans with student loan debt and offer free tuition for public college, among others, saying her priorities can be paid for by passing a new 2 percent “Ultra-Millionaire Tax” on families with $50 million or more in wealth.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.