NEW YORK – Democrats for Education Reform, a “progressive” education nonprofit, is calling on their comrades to beg off any attempt by Donald Trump to appoint a Democrat Secretary of Education.

DFER President Shavar Jeffries explained the organization’s hardline stance in a statement published on the organization’s website Thursday.

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“It is, generally speaking, an honor for any person of any political persuasion to be asked by the President of the United States to consider a Cabinet-level appointment, but in the case of President-elect Trump, DFER encourages no Democrat to accept an appointment to serve as Secretary of Education in this new administration,” he wrote.

“In doing so, that individual would become an agent for an agenda that both contradicts progressive values and threatens grave harm to our nation’s most vulnerable kids.”

Jeffries’ implied political threat comes amid rumors the Trump administration is considering at least two Democrats to serve as Secretary of Education – charter school CEO Eva Moskowitz, and former Washington D.C. schools chancellor Michelle Rhee.

Moskowitz told Politico on Thursday that she’s not considering the position.

“At this time I will not be entertaining any prospective opportunities,” she said at an unrelated press conference.

Moskowitz said she “will work with him and whoever he selects as education secretary,” and is “troubled by what I see as a sort of rooting for Trump’s failure.”

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The New York City teachers union – United Federation of Teachers – hates Moskowitz and her high-performing independent charter schools, and president Michael Mulgrew had already began campaigning against the her consideration as Education Secretary on Wednesday.

“Education reform 101: I’m going to take the best and therefore my school is the best, and forget about those who can’t perform,” Mulgrew said. “That’s not the goal of education in this country, and that’s what Eva Moskowitz is about.”

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Chalkbeat reports:

Moskowitz has been a leading — and often bruising — critic of New York City’s education department. Her (Success Academy charter school) network, which has grown to 41 schools and roughly 14,000 students in four boroughs, is meant to prove that publicly funded but privately managed schools can outperform those run by a government bureaucracy — precisely the vision that Trump and his vice president-elect, Mike Pence, have put forth.

Success regularly posts some of the strongest test scores in the city. But the network has also weathered criticism over its discipline practices and accusations that its schools do not serve their fair share of high-needs students.

Rhee, who also battled with teachers union at the helm of the D.C. school district, is also listed as “rumored” on CNN Politics. Rhee left D.C. to launch an education reform nonprofit, before advising Florida Gov. Rick Scott on education policy and most recently leading a charter school network founded by her husband, Sacramento, California, Mayor Kevin Johnson, the Washingtonian reports.

The site notes that Rhee’s support for charter schools, vouchers and other policies aimed at giving families more educational choices seems to align with Trump’s perspective on education.

But DEFR doesn’t care, and instead of calling on Democrats to help shape the future of education in America, they’re advocating for “progressives” to refuse to participate. They’re calling for a self-imposed time-out over anticipated conflicts between progressive ideals and Trump’s vision to Make America Great Again.

“The policies and rhetoric of President-elect Trump run contrary to the most fundamental values of what it means to be a progressive committed to educating our kids and strengthening our families and communities. He proposes to eliminate accountability standards, cut Title I funding, and to gut support for vital social services that maximize our students’ ability to reach their potential,” Jeffries wrote.

“And, most pernicious, Trump gives both tacit and express endorsement to a dangerous set of racial, ethnic, religious, and gender stereotypes that assault the basic dignity of our children, causing incalculable harm not only to their sense of self, but also to their sense of belonging as accepted members of school communities and neighborhoods.”