Betsy DeVos was confirmed as Secretary of Education Tuesday after a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Mike Pence. She faced staunch opposition from all Senate Democrats, who protested her nomination with an all-night session, and even two Republicans. Here's a closer look at the policies that made DeVos the most narrowly-approved Cabinet secretary in history, and one of Donald Trump's most controversial nominations.

School Choice and Vouchers

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DeVos' most prominent and most controversial stance is on school choice, which would allow parents to choose where their children attend school, instead of following the traditional public-school model. Specifically, DeVos advocates for a voucher system, which would allocate federal funding to help parents pay for the school of their choice, whether that's public school, private school, or a charter school.

"Let the education dollars follow each child, instead of forcing the child to follow the dollars. This is pretty straightforward. And it's how you go from a closed system to an open system that encourages innovation. People deserve choices and options," DeVos said during a 2015 speech at SXSWedu in Austin, Texas.

Trump is also a proponent of vouchers, and has proposed dedicating $20 billion in federal funding toward voucher programs and charter schools. In addition, he has expressed a desire to persuade states to invest another $110 billion toward vouchers. The goal would be to give every child $12,000 to spend on education. That money could either be funneled back into the public school system or used to subsidize the cost of a private education.

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The problem with this approach is that it stands to weaken the public education system and do a disservice to many students, especially those already prone to disadvantage. In a 2015 speech in the Senate, Sen. Patty Murray laid out the argument against vouchers.

"Vouchers undermine the basic goals of public education by allowing funding that is designated for our most at-risk students to be re-routed to private schools," she said. She later added, "Today, public schools across the country, and particularly those schools with high concentrations of students in poverty, need more funding, not less. We cannot afford to send scarce federal resources away from public schools to benefit private schools."

As Sen. Murray went on to explain, vouchers usually cover some, but not all, of the cost of private schools. This means that they benefit affluent families who can afford to pay the difference out of pocket, while leaving low-income students with no choice but to attend public schools—which would become increasingly underfunded under a voucher program.

In addition to the negative impact on public schools and the children they would continue to serve, voucher programs don't impose any standards on the private institutions they help to fund. There would be no way to guarantee that private schools were employing state-licensed teachers or meeting the assessment standards required of public schools, for example.

Charter Schools

DeVos is also in favor of expanding charter schools, which are publicly funded, but independently run. While proponents claim that charter schools, which enjoy more flexibility, foster more innovative curriculums, opponents point to their lack of accountability and, in some cases, poor performance.

DeVos has personally come under fire for the disappointing performance of charter schools she championed in Michigan.

While some charter schools are high performers, with long waiting lists and spots given away by lottery, performance varies widely across the board. Charter school advocates claim that the free market will weed out the bad schools, but as John Oliver succinctly pointed out in a segment he did on charter schools last year, education might not be best left to the free market in the first place.

"The problem with letting the free market decide when it comes to kids is that kids change faster than the market. And by the time it's obvious the school is failing, futures may have been ruined," Oliver explained.

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Many states have caps on new charter schools that might be lifted under DeVos' guidance.

Students with Disabilities

DeVos has faced significant criticism over what her voucher plan might mean for students with disabilities, since private schools receiving vouchers would not be required to make the same accommodations for disabled students as public schools. According to New Republic, DeVos told members of the Senate Health, Education, and Pensions Committee that "it should be up to the states" to decide if publicly-funded schools should be forced to adhere to the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act.

She has since pivoted on the issue. In a January letter to Sen. Johnny Isakson of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, she wrote, "Thank you for the opportunity to more fully explain my position on the importance of protecting the rights of students with disabilities and ensuring that they receive the quality education they deserve. I am committed to enforcing all federal laws and protecting the hard won rights of students with disabilities."

Still, advocates for students with disabilities worry about the impact of voucher programs on these children. They argue that because it's difficult to force private institutions to provide the necessary accommodations, students with disabilities will have no choice but to attend public schools, even if they're left underfunded and underperforming by the voucher system.

Guns in Schools

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During her Senate hearing, DeVos was asked to weigh in on the issue of guns being allowed in and around schools. She insisted that the issue should be left for states and local governments to decide. When pressed, she explained her reasoning.

"I think probably there, I would imagine that there's probably a gun in the school to protect from potential grizzlies," she said.

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DeVos responds to @ChrisMurphyCT with support for Trump plan to get rid of gun free zones; cites grizzly bears as reason for guns in schools pic.twitter.com/EPcocq8an4 — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) January 18, 2017

Critics (and the entirety of Twitter) jumped on the "potential grizzlies" comment, but the heart of DeVos' stance on guns in schools is much more serious. When asked in the hearing if she would support Trump's plan to ban gun-free school zones, she said she "will support what the president-elect does." This is a troubling stance to many, especially given the history of gun violence in American schools.

Kayleigh Roberts Kayleigh Roberts is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, covering celebrity and entertainment news, from actual royals like Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle to Hollywood royalty, like Katie Holmes and Chrissy Teigen.

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