Lawmakers Seek to Ban K–12 Schools From Accepting Funds From China

A U.S. flag hangs in a classroom as students work on laptops in Newlon Elementary School in Denver, in a file photo. David Zalubowski/AP Photo

Two House Republicans have introduced legislation to stop the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in K–12 public schools in the United States.

Reps. Dave Joyce (R-Ohio) and Michael Rulli (R-Ohio) introduced the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems (CLASS) Act on Feb. 5.

The legislation seeks to ban K–12 public schools from accepting funds or entering into contracts with CCP-linked entities.

The legislation would require schools to provide a written disclosure to the Department of Education within 30 days of receiving foreign funds or entering into contracts with foreign entities.

According to the bill, the written disclosure should include the foreign source’s name and country of origin, the terms or conditions, and the amount of funds received.

“American classrooms and what is taught in them should be guided by Americans, not by foreign influences,” Joyce said in a statement.

“The Chinese Communist Party’s attempts to interfere with our curriculum and students is a direct threat to our national security that must be addressed.”

Beijing is sponsoring and staffing many K–12 classrooms in the United States through a culture and language program called Confucius Classrooms, which are affiliates of Confucius Institutes. Joyce’s office noted that Confucius Classrooms are part of China’s “soft-power effort to influence policy in countries throughout the world.”

“However, Confucius Classroom funding comes with strings attached that compromise academic freedom. The Chinese government approves teachers, events, and speakers and requires teachers to sign contracts pledging they will not damage the national interests of China,” Joyce’s office stated.

It noted that funding arrangements are “rarely disclosed” to parents.

“The CCP has a clear agenda to infiltrate American classrooms and manipulate curricula,“ Rulli said in a statement. ”This bill ensures that no school district in Ohio—or anywhere in the country—falls prey to CCP influence.”

The issue was raised on Feb. 5 during a congressional hearing on “The State of American Education,” held by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

One of the witnesses, Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, shared with lawmakers her organization’s 2023 report titled “Little Red Classrooms: China’s Infiltration of American K–12 Schools.”

“We identified 143 districts around the country, in 34 states, including 20 near military bases, where Chinese teachers, Chinese materials [and] curriculum, had come directly from CCP-linked entities,” Neily said.

“The dollar amounts that were coming to these schools were very low; it’s well below the Higher Education Act’s $250,000 threshold.”

She was referring to the requirement that institutions of higher education must report any foreign gifts or contracts worth that figure or higher to the Department of Education.

“But again, receiving curriculum, receiving books, we don’t actually really know what’s being taught,” Neily said.

“For all of our friends discussing teaching true history—Tiananmen, Taiwan, Tibet, Uyghur genocide—are those covered in these classes? Almost certainly not.

“And so I think there’s a real concern as to who is coming in and what our children have access to behind our backs.”

The 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, Taiwan’s de-facto independence status, as well as the CCP’s oppression of Tibetans, persecution of Falun Gong, and genocide campaign against Uyghurs are some of the topics that face heavy censorship in China. The Chinese regime treats these subjects as taboo in public discussion.

A poll released by Parents Defending Education in January found that 91 percent of U.S. parents said school districts should disclose when they receive funds from foreign governments.

When broken down by political affiliation, the poll showed that 94 percent of Republican parents and 90 percent of Democratic parents concur that such a disclosure requirement is necessary.