Senator Romney and colleagues demand answers on Chinese K-12 school influence

Photo: Senator Mitt Romney

SALT LAKE CITY – U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, along with fellow senators under the leadership of Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), have recently penned a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, conveying their apprehensions and requesting clarification regarding reports of the influx of millions of dollars from entities associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) into American educational institutions.

A report from the non-profit organization Parents Defending Education states that over $17.9 million has flowed into American K-12 schools, reaching 143 school districts in 34 different states.

The report reveals that for nearly two decades, the CCP has utilized tools such as grants, sister-school programs, and ‘Confucius classrooms’, to teach Chinese language and culture. Confucius programs creates a partnership between K-12 schools, universities or nonprofits, and a Chinese government entity.

In 2020, the U.S. State Department designated Confucius Institutes a ‘foreign mission’ of the Chinese Communist Party. As per the State Department’s report, these programs are partially funded by the Chinese government under direction of the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party, ‘the Chinese Communist Party’s overseas propaganda and influence operation.’

“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.”

Romney labeled the funding and programs as ‘state-sponsored programming’ in a recent press release, and alleges it has ‘compromised the integrity of America’s K-12 educational system.’

The Parents Defending Education report uncovered contracts that show Chinese government backed programing are still active in several school districts in Kentucky, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, and Oklahoma.

The report also states that three of the nation’s top science and technology high schools have ties to Chinese government affiliated programs. Those three schools include Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia, Simpson County Public Schools in Kentucky, and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

The Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology received over $1 million throughout the course of nine years from a nonprofit organization linked to Chinese government affiliated entities.

“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 in the letter to Secretary Cardona.

The report also states that the CCP has had direct ties through Confucius classrooms with school districts near twenty different U.S. military bases. School districts that have partnered with the CCP in the past have been located near Annapolis, the San Diego Naval Base, Dover Air Force Base, Fort Knox, Fort Bragg, and the Langley Air Force Base, among others.

“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,” the senators wrote.