Chinese Communist Party funds U.S. public schools

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is funding several public schools in the United States. The organization Parents Defending Education revealed that the Chinese regime granted at least $17 million to more than 140 schools (active and inactive), throughout 34 states and Washington D.C. Members of the Republican Party are now investigating the donations.

The report, titled Little Red Classrooms, revealed that the CCP funded K-12 schools through financial institutions under Confucius Institute programs and other cultural and language programs. According to a report by the National Association of Scholars, Confucius Institutes and their K-12 programming called Confucius Classrooms are schools that teach Chinese language and culture. The program creates a partnership between schools, universities and non-profit organizations and a Chinese regime entity.

The report states that "Three of the nation’s top science and technology high schools have ties to Chinese government-affiliated programs: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has had ties to Tsinghua University High School—the high school affiliated with one of China’s top military schools, Tsinghua University. Simpson County Public Schools in Kentucky entered into an agreement with North China Electric Power University to operate Western Kentucky University’s Confucius Institute. North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics received a 'Confucius Classroom of the Year' award from Hanban in 2018."

Chinese regime targets schools near military bases

Similarly, Parents Defending Education explained that in March it "uncovered that a nonprofit linked to Thomas Jefferson High School of Science and Technology had received more than $1 million in financial aid from Chinese government-affiliated entities over the course of a decade."

In addition, the organization indicated that funding is not a recent development. It explained that additional research showed that the People's Republic of China fostered relationships with U.S. K-12 schools through grants, sister school partnerships and other programs since at least 2009. Parents Defending Education said that "Financial exchanges between K-12 schools and the Chinese government range from a few thousand dollars to, in Thomas Jefferson High School's case, more than a million dollars. Disturbingly, the Chinese government's ties appear to target school districts near 20 American military bases."

Parents Defending Education's investigation was submitted to several Republican representatives for fact-finding purposes. Congressman Jim Banks addressed the situation and demanded that the Department of Education take urgent action. Banks sent a letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, which was reported by DailyMail. In it, he insists that these partnerships, which he called disturbing, need to be terminated.

The Chinese Communist Party is not a trustworthy partner. Accepting funding and influence from our greatest adversary is a threat to America’s children and national security.