CHARTER BACKERS KNOCK TRUMP ED CZAR,

Leading Massachusetts charter-school advocates have taken aim at Betsy DeVos, the school-choice proponent who is Presidentelect Donald Trump’s pick for U.S. education secretary, claiming she has low standards — in an attack that has confounded other charter backers.

In a letter to U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Charter Public School Association, which represents 70 charter schools, asks Warren to ensure that DeVos commits to a strict oversight system for charter schools nationwide.

“We’re very concerned that if the federal government lowers the standards for charter schools, it would have a negative impact on Massachusetts charter schools,” said MCPSA director Marc Kenen.

Warren serves on the Senate committee that will hold DeVos’ confirmation hearing on Monday.

DeVos, a Michigan billionaire and school-choice advocate, serves on the board of the American Federation of Children, which backs school vouchers and charters. Citing media reports critical of charters in DeVos’ home state, the MCPSA said, “We are deeply concerned that efforts to grow school choice without a rigorous accountability system will reduce the quality of charter schools across the country ... Without high levels of accountability, the model fails.”

Jim Stergios of the Pioneer Institute called the letter “astounding.”

“It seeks help from a senator who, though she professes to be for school choice, turned her back on charters as recently as the November Question 2 ballot initiative,” Stergios said. “The charter association purports to represent charter schools, including three high-performing for-profit charter schools here in Massachusetts. To see it then criticize for-profit charters suggests the association has veered from its mission of ensuring that all students have access to great schools.”