HALL MONITOR: “YES” on Combatting the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems Act (H.R.5567)
Summary: Prohibits K-12 schools from receiving funds from or entering contracts with the Chinese Communist Party or their affiliates, and strengthens reporting requirements for all foreign funding in K-12 schools.
Status: Introduced in the House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce in September 2023.
Bill Sponsor: Representatives David Joyce (R-OH), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Ed Case (D-HI) introduced the bill on September 19th, 2023. Representatives Brandon Williams (R-NY), Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), Kelly Armstrong (R-ND), Troy Balderson (R-OH), Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY), Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Mike Carey (R-OH), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), David Valadao (R-CA), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Nick LaLota (R-NY) and Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) are cosponsors of the bill.
A sponsor is a legislator who presents a bill to the legislature to be considered for a vote.
Bill Breakdown:
The bill prohibits elementary and secondary schools receiving federal funding from entering contracts with or receiving funding from the government of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese Communist Party, or any individual or group acting on behalf of either entity. The bill also requires all elementary and secondary schools to report any foreign funding or contracts with foreign entities to the Secretary of Education.
Why did PDE Action support this bill?
The presence of a foreign adversary in our children’s classrooms is a significant vulnerability to our national security and to the interests of our nation’s school-aged children. Parents deserve to know if adversarial governments have access to and influence over their children’s education and data. The federal government has a responsibility to defend our schools from security concerns from foreign governments.
PDE Action’s partner organization, Parents Defending Education, recently published a report detailing CCP funding, curriculum, and student data access in K-12 classrooms, and PDE Action has urged Congress and state governors to act swiftly in protecting students from harmful influence from foreign adversaries.