SALT LAKE CITY—U.S. Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) joined his Senate colleagues, led by Senator Tim Scott (R-SC), in a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona expressing concerns over new reports showing millions of dollars from Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked entities have flowed into America’s K-12 classrooms. The letter requests the U.S. Department of Education conduct a nationwide audit to determine the extent of funding from hostile foreign adversaries in schools. The call for an investigation comes amid revelations that, for nearly two decades, the CCP has threatened our national security by using tools such as grants, sister school partnerships, “Confucius Classrooms,” and other state-sponsored programming to compromise the integrity of America’s K-12 educational system.
Senators joining the letter include: HELP Committee Ranking Member Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-ID), Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), James Lankford (R-OK), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Thune (R-SD), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and J.D. Vance (R-OH).
“Programs vetted and managed by the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) have infiltrated 34 states nationwide, impacting more than 170,000 students across 143 school districts,” wrote the senators. “We urge you to conduct a thorough, nationwide audit to determine how much funding from hostile foreign governments has flowed to America’s K-12 schools. We also urge you to analyze the extent to which other hostile foreign governments, in addition to the PRC, may have already gained access to our K-12 schools.”
“The CCP is the greatest threat to America’s security today. The CCP’s involvement in the K-12 education system further demonstrates how far the Chinese government is willing go to expand its influence and promote its authoritarian agenda. We cannot sit idle and allow this expansion of CCP propaganda. Parents deserve transparency and policymakers must know the extent of the problem so we can work on solutions to protect both our students and our national security,” the senators continued. “Accordingly, we urge you to conduct a thorough, nationwide audit to determine how much funding from hostile foreign governments has flowed into America’s K-12 schools. We urge you to analyze the extent to which other hostile foreign governments, in addition to the PRC, may have already gained access to our K-12 schools.”
Read the full letter to Secretary Cardona here.
Share
- 08.30.2023
- Tags: Education, Foreign Policy & National Security