Watchdog Complaint Alleges Unethical Coordination Between Top Education Official, Teachers’ Union
- December 2, 2022
Samantha Flom, The Epoch Times
Federal watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT) filed a complaint on Dec. 1 alleging that a top Department of Education (DOE) official gave “privileged access and undue influence” in the department’s policymaking process to the National Education Association (NEA), the teacher’s union where she was previously employed.
“As insidious as the teachers’ unions influence on the school reopening guidance was—unnecessarily keeping kids out of schools, which we now know resulted in tragic learning loss and mental health deterioration on an entire generation of students—it’s even worse than we thought,” PPT Director Michael Chamberlain said in a Friday press release announcing the complaint.
“[The DOE] and at least one high-ranking official appeared to have cast aside ethics obligations meant to protect the interests of the American public in order to push the unions’ agenda. This episode is one of the clearest yet to demonstrate that the American public’s all-time low trust in its government is entirely justified.”
In a Dec. 1 letter to DOE Inspector General Sarah Bruce and General Counsel Lisa Brown, Chamberlain laid out the alleged violations committed by DEO Deputy Chief of Staff Donna Harris-Aikens.