Bipartisan Group Seeks to Stop Biden Canceling Archery, Hunting in Schools

Liko Arreola of the United States competes during the women's compound finals during the Hyundai Archery World Cup 2023 Stage 3 in Medellin, Colombia, on June 17, 2023. Dean Alberga/Handout/World Archery Federation via Getty Images

Republican and Democrat lawmakers are seeking to block the Department of Education’s (DOE) move to cease funding for school archery and hunting programs under the guise of implementing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), passed last year.

The BSCA, passed in the aftermath of a few high profile shootings across the country, amended a section of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) to prohibit federal funds from being used to train school staff in using dangerous weapons.

“Unfortunately, and contrary to Congressional intent, the Department of Education (DOE) has misinterpreted the language to exclude certain educational activities from receiving federal resources,” the lawmakers said in a Sept. 5 letter (pdf) addressed to Education Secretary Miguel A. Cardona.

“The Department’s interpretation has sparked concerns from district and state leaders that ESEA funds may no longer be used to support archery, hunter safety education, or other extracurricular programs.”

The DOE has asked local and state education agencies to seek alternate funding sources for archery and hunting programs, the letter stated.

“This is concerning because of the important role these enrichment programs can play in students’ lives. Archery is an inclusive extracurricular activity that empowers students from all backgrounds to learn a sport and compete,” it said.

“Hunter safety classes and programs play an important role in teaching safety, wildlife management, landowner relations, and personal responsibility to students.”

More than 600,000 students are trained in hunter safety courses, with research showing that hunting-related injuries have dropped “significantly” over the past five decades due to higher participation in such programs, it said.

Lawmakers asked the DOE to interpret the language of the BSCA “as Congress intended” and “no longer ask educational entities to seek other funding sources for educational enrichment programs that align with the intent of ESEA.”

The BSCA was “carefully negotiated and drafted to protect and preserve law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” they said.

The letter was signed by 18 U.S. senators, including Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Mr. Cornyn and Mr. Tillis were the Republican sponsors of the BSCA while Ms. Sinema and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) were the Democrat sponsors.

Protecting Second Amendment Rights

In a statement to Fox News, Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.) criticized the Biden administration for advancing its “radical anti-Second Amendment agenda by prohibiting ESEA funding for archery and shooting sports programs.”

“Upstate New York schools offer hunting, archery, and shooting sports programs to teach students how to responsibly handle firearms,” she said.

President Joe Biden speaks on a previous student debt relief scheme as Education Secretary Miguel Cardona looks on in Washington on Oct. 17, 2022. Alex Wong/ Getty Images

On Aug. 4, Ms. Tenney introduced the “Protecting Hunting and Archery in Schools Act” that will remove current federal restrictions on hunting and archery programs. The bill has been referred to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

“The Biden Administration’s attempt to defund these outdoor recreational programs is a power grab and flies in the face of Congressional intent,“ she said in the statement. ”This important legislation will protect these popular after-school programs and end the Biden Administration’s attack on our constitutional rights.”

The Biden administration’s move comes as programs like the National Archery in Schools Program (NASP) have seen “unprecedented growth in participation,” according to the National Rifle Association (NRA) Hunters’ Leadership Program.

NASP, launched in 2002, attracts 1.3 million students from fourth to 12th grade each year. In 2023, students from 49 American states and eight Canadian provinces participated in the program. The NASP national tournament saw the participation of 3,838 youngsters from 36 states.

Speaking to Fox News in July, Tommy Floyd, president of NASP, said the new Biden policy is “a negative for children.”

“In many communities, it’s a shooting sport, and the skills from shooting sports, that help young people grow to be responsible adults. They also benefit from relationships with role models,” he said.

“You’ve got every fish and wildlife agency out there working so hard to utilize every scrap of funding, not only for the safety and hunter education, but for the general understanding of why stewardship is so important when it comes to natural resources. … Any guidance where it’s even considered a ‘maybe’ or a prohibition for shooting sports is a huge negative.”

Biden’s ‘Disconnect’ With Americans

In addition to Ms. Tenney, other lawmakers are also introducing legislation to counter the Biden DOE’s latest move targeting school archery and hunting.

In August, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) introduced the “Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act.”

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) speaks to reporters after being elected to be the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee in a House Republican Steering Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington on Jan. 9, 2023. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The bill (pdf) amends ESEA “to clarify that the prohibition on the use of Federal education funds for certain weapons does not apply to the use of such weapons for training in archery, hunting, or other shooting sports.”

In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Mr. Green called the Biden administration decision “a direct reflection of his disconnect with many Americans.” He pointed out that “hunters and fishers are our most prominent conservationists.”

A spokesperson from the DOE insisted that the department is only implementing laws “as developed by Congress” and that it is “open to engagement from members regarding changes to this statutory language.”

Mark Oliva, managing director for public affairs of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry, recently told The Epoch Times that the easiest way for the Biden administration to resolve the issue is “to stop doing what it is doing and restore the funding.”