Federal Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos made a quick visit to Jefferson City Monday to give the keynote speech for the Federalist Society, a group of libertarian-leaning scholars, lawyers, and lawmakers.

DeVos pitched the administration’s Education Freedom Scholarship, funded by private sponsors who in turn get dollar-for-dollar tax credits, capped at $5 billion per year.

“It’s the conservative, federalist cure for what plagues American education. Its doesn’t grow the federal bureaucracy one tiny bit, doesn’t create a new federal office of school choice, it doesn’t impose any new requirements on states or on families, it doesn’t take a single dollar from public school students, doesn’t spend a single dollar of federal money, and it doesn’t entangle schools with federal strings or stifling red tape,” she told the group gathered in House Chambers for a day-long conference.

Listen to speech (13:10)

DeVos did not officially meet with lawmakers but her speech was given the same week that two charter school bills are scheduled for committee debate. State Senators Andrew Koenig and Mike Cierpiot’s plans would give parents a tax credit to pay for their child’s K-12 education at a school of their choice.

Governor Mike Parson, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and State Attorney General Eric Schmitt also spoke at the conference earlier in the day.