WASHINGTON, D.C. – Representatives Kevin Hern (OK-01) and Kevin Kiley (CA-03) introduced the Promoting Responsible Oversight to Eliminate Communist Teachings for Our Kids (PROTECT Our Kids) Act, legislation to prohibit federal funding through the Department of Education for any school which continues to host a Confucius Classroom.
Confucius Classrooms are Chinese language and learning centers in elementary and secondary schools which are funded or otherwise supported by the Chinese government. The PROTECT Our Kids Act allows one year for schools to stop partnering with the CCP, or any third party funded by the CCP, and requires the Department of Education to give notice to impacted schools.
“Chinese Communist Party (CCP) malign influence in our schools and universities cannot continue unchecked,” said Rep. Hern. “Our children are our most precious resource, we must protect them from CCP-funded influence. With President Trump’s strong leadership, America is finally standing up to the CCP’s malign influence and putting America’s children first. The PROTECT Our Kids Act will halt the flow of CCP money and propaganda into our K-12 schools – we can’t pass it soon enough!”
“Education should empower free thought, not serve as a vehicle for foreign propaganda. Confucius Classrooms, funded and influenced by the Chinese Communist Party, compromise academic independence under the guise of cultural exchange. As a cosponsor of the PROTECT Our Kids Act and a former teacher, I believe is past time to halt CCP influence in our schools,” said Rep. Kiley, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education.
