Four years under Secretary of Education Betsy Devos hasn't been great for LGBTQ students across the U.S.
Perhaps hoping to improve upon the past, Democratic Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren told a crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa she would be consulting a 9-year-old transgender boy on her pick for Devos' replacement.
While Betsy Devos has used her power to deprive transgender students of Obama-era protections and completely stop investigations into complaints of transgender discrimination, Elizabeth Warren hopes to take a different direction.
Warren told the attendees of the Cedar Rapids event that she had several specific criterion any candidate for Secretary of Education would have to meet.
"For my secretary of education, number one it has to be someone who has taught in a public school."
Her second criterion was based on her past interactions with LGBTQ youth.
"Number two, a young trans person asked [me] about a welcoming community… I'm going to have a secretary of education that this young trans person interviews on my behalf, and only if this person believes that our secretary or education nominee is absolutely committed to creating a welcoming environment, a safe environment, and a full educational curriculum for everyone will that person actually be advanced to be secretary of education."
Warren's pledge was inspired by a young boy named Jacob, who asked her in October:
"What will you do in your first week as president to make sure that kids like me feel safer in schools? And what do you think schools need to do better to make sure that I don't need to worry about anything but my homework?"
Jacob's mother Mimi told Out about how proud she was of her son's journey.
"He has struggled with his own identity, with coming out to us and to himself. He struggled to find his voice. Now that he has found it, and he can speak for so many kids. As a parent, that's all I want for my child. The evening was so powerful for our whole family and I don't think we'll ever forget it."
One thing seems certain: things would be better for young students like Jacob with Elizabeth Warren as President.
