“We’re actually studying school safety and how our students are safe at school,” Educaion Secretary Betsy DeVos said. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images DeVos: Trump school safety panel won’t look at guns

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told lawmakers Tuesday that the Trump administration‘s school safety commission will not study potential changes to gun laws.

DeVos was asked by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) whether the commission, formed after the Parkland, Fla. high school shooting earlier this year, would examine guns.


“That is not part of the commission’s charge per se,” DeVos, who chairs the commission, responded.

Her comments sparked objections from advocates for greater gun safety, including a parent of a student killed in the Florida shooting.

Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter Jaime died in the Feb. 14 murders, said on Twitter that DeVos’ comment would motivate voters who care about gun safety.

“Besty Devos, your comment that the investigation following the shooting death of my daughter and 16 others will not involve guns is surprisingly helpful,” Guttenberg wrote on Twitter. “You just gave every parent who actually cares about school safety a reason to vote in November.”

Morning Education A daily dose of education policy news — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Advocates of tighter gun laws also seized on DeVos’ comments.

“What we heard today only confirms what we already knew: The Trump administration is far more concerned with securing NRA support than addressing the root causes of gun violence--namely, our lax gun laws,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety.

DeVos’ comments came during testimony before the Senate appropriations subcommittee that oversees education funding. DeVos was there to testify on the department’s fiscal 2019 budget.

Leahy, the top Democrat on Senate Appropriations, asked DeVos about the commission’s charge. “So you’re studying gun violence but not considering the role of guns?” he asked DeVos.

“We’re actually studying school safety and how we can ensure our students are safe at school,” DeVos said. She said that the commission would be focused on the roughly 20 areas that the White House had outlined for it.

DeVos also sidestepped a question by Leahy about whether she believed that an 18-year-old should be able to purchase an AR-15-style assault weapon.

“I believe that’s very much a matter for debate, and I know that’s been debated in this body and will continue to be,” DeVos said.

The White House’s fact sheet announcing the formation of the commission in March said that the panel “will study and make recommendations” on a range of areas, including “age restrictions for certain firearm purchases.”

An Education Department spokeswoman, Liz Hill, said after DeVos’ remarks that the commission is considering age restrictions on firearms and that the Justice Department has taken the lead on that particular issue.

“The secretary and the commission continue to look at all issues the President asked the committee to study and are focused on making recommendations that the agencies, states and local communities can implement,” Hill said in an email. “It’s important to note that the commission cannot create or amend current gun laws — that is the Congress’ job.”

DeVos’ comments were attacked by Democratic lawmakers as well.

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), a member of the House education committee, on Twitter called DeVos’ school safety commission “a sham.”

“Students aren’t dying from grizzly bears,” he wrote. “Students aren’t dying from paper cuts. Students aren’t dying from math homework. Students are dying from guns.”

Pocan’s tweet referred to a moment during DeVos’ confirmation hearing last year when she suggested that a Wyoming school may need guns to protect against “potential grizzlies.” DeVos said during a hearing in March that she “probably would have used a different example” if she were to do the hearing over again.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said on CNN that DeVos’ comments were “very troubling” and reflected an “anti-research” approach to school safety. “I hope that Ms. DeVos, as she talks to experts on this issue, will change her mind,” Wyden said.

“Sorry, what?” stated Kris Brown, co-president of the Brady Campaign, which advocates to curb gun violence, in an email. “We’re completely round the bend if Sec. DeVos believes she’s somehow going to study and solve gun violence without actually addressing guns. This commission was set up specifically to address the issue of school safety, so if guns aren’t ‘part of the commission’s charge,’ as Sec. DeVos put it, what are they even doing here?”

The school safety commission is made up of four Cabinet secretaries: DeVos, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.

The commission faced criticism when its first meetings were not made open to the public or press and didn‘t include teachers, school leaders or students.

Caitlin Emma contributed to this report.