Tim Scott and GOP senators urge Cardona to investigate Chinese influence in K-12 schools
Jeremiah Poff
Video Embed
A group of Republican senators led by 2024 presidential candidate Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) urged Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona to investigate Chinese influence in K-12 schools in a letter Tuesday, citing a recent report from the parent activist organization Parents Defending Education.
In a letter Tuesday, Scott and 17 of his colleagues urged Cardona to launch an investigation into partnerships between Chinese-funded Confucius Institutes and K-12 schools after a report from Parents Defending Education revealed that 143 school districts had promoted programs put on by Confucius Institutes.
RETAIL THEFT DELIVERS AN ECONOMIC BLOW FOR COMPANIES AND COMMUNITIES
“The CCP is the greatest threat to America’s security today,” the lawmakers wrote. “The CCP’s involvement in the K-12 education system further demonstrates how far the Chinese government is willing to 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 report from Parents Defending Education, “Little Red Classrooms,” details how 143 school districts have or had partnerships with Confucius Institutes to provide “Confucius Classrooms” programming at the K-12 level.
Confucius Institutes, Chinese-funded institutes at U.S. universities, have drawn increased scrutiny in recent years amid heightened concerns that such institutes are being used to push propaganda efforts in the United States on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party. Under the Trump administration, the Department of Education launched a series of investigations into foreign influence in higher education that prompted a number of universities to close their institutes.
The lawmakers asked Cardona to “conduct a thorough, nationwide audit” to determine how much money from the Chinese Communist Party and other “hostile foreign governments” has flowed to K-12 schools in the U.S., and they asked the secretary to respond to the letter no later than Sept. 8.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“We look forward to working with you to prevent our students and their families from falling victim to authoritarian propaganda and urge you to take bold steps to curb the CCP’s malign influence in our education system,” they wrote.
Scott, who spearheaded the letter, has repeatedly invoked a need to confront China on the international stage while on the presidential campaign trail. On his website, the candidate says that “Defeating China starts with reducing our soaring national debt and removing the Chinese Communist Party from our universities, our farmland, our personal data, and our skies.”