Exclusive: Sen. Ted Cruz is set to introduce legislation on Monday aimed at curbing the influence of China and other malign actors in U.S. schools.
Cruz, R-Texas, authored the Senate version of the Transparency in Reporting Adversarial Contributions to Education (TRACE) Act.
The law requires schools to allow parents to review, or “trace,” any curriculum provided by a foreign entity or purchased with foreign funds.
Cruz said such guardrails were essential because America’s adversaries see younger generations as easy targets.
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“The Chinese Communist Party is devoting enormous resources to controlling what Americans see, what they hear and ultimately what they think,” Cruz said.
“The Chinese Communist Party, like other foreign adversaries, continues to target American educational institutions. The TRACE Act will give parents the transparency they need and deserve and help protect classrooms from foreign influence.”
In China’s case, the Communist Party’s control of the social media app TikTok has long been criticized as a pattern of influencing young people.
In June, Rep. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Education Committee, authored the House version, the first of its kind, adding that America’s schools are “for education, not for espionage.”
“We cannot allow our nation’s future students to be corrupted by hostile foreign forces that are systematically and aggressively trying to influence our primary and secondary schools,” he said.
“That’s why it’s so important to strengthen parents’ rights to know how foreign influences are affecting their children’s classrooms and take concrete steps to stop foreign countries from influencing American youth.”
The Jacksonville lawmaker also thanked Cruz for introducing a related bill and expediting the process of sending the bill to President Biden’s desk if it passes both chambers.
Cruz’s bill also garnered support from Parents Defending Education, a grassroots group focused on blunting activist agendas in schools.
“When parents send their children to school, they should have peace of mind knowing where the funds for education are coming from,” PDEA Federal Affairs Director Michelle Exner said Monday.
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“Unfortunately, our partner organization, Parents for Education, has uncovered disturbing evidence that foreign nations, particularly adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party, are attempting to use America’s education system to advance their own strategic objectives at the expense of our nation. We cannot allow this to happen.”
The bill requires schools to provide parents with information about curriculum that is provided or funded free of charge by a foreign entity and provides that school districts must prominently post or distribute at the beginning of each school year a statement of parents’ rights under the policy.
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In 2023, Oklahoma’s top elected education official called on Congress to act to blunt such foreign influence.
Oklahoma Superintendent Ryan Walters has previously called the Chinese Communist Party’s influence a national security risk, noting in a recent Fox News Digital interview that Oklahoma schools are prohibited from affiliating with “hostile” countries.
Just as Mao Zedong’s “Little Red Book” indoctrinated China’s youth in the mid-20th century, there is a similar risk today through foreign funding and “Confucius Classroom” programs, Walters said.
