[House Report 118-572]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


118th Congress    }                                    {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                    {      118-572

======================================================================



 
       COMBATING THE LIES OF AUTHORITARIANS IN SCHOOL SYSTEMS ACT

                                _______
                                

  July 5, 2024.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Ms. Foxx, from the Committee on Education and the Workforce, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                             together with

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                        [To accompany H.R. 5567]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Education and the Workforce, to whom was 
referred the bill (H.R. 5567) to prohibit elementary and 
secondary schools from accepting funds from or entering into 
contracts with the Government of the People's Republic of China 
and the Chinese Communist Party, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Combating the Lies of Authoritarians 
in School Systems Act'' or the ``CLASS Act''.

SEC. 2. DISCLOSURE OF FOREIGN FUNDING AND CONTRACTS.

  (a) In General.--As a condition on receipt of Federal financial 
assistance under any applicable program by a public elementary school 
or a public secondary school, the school, not later than 30 days after 
receiving funds in excess of $10,000 in the aggregate from a foreign 
source, or entering into one or more contracts with an aggregate value 
in excess of $10,000 with a foreign source, shall submit to the 
Secretary of Education a written disclosure that identifies--
          (1) the name and country of origin of the foreign source;
          (2) in a case in which a school receives funds from a foreign 
        source--
                  (A) the amount of funds received from that source; 
                and
                  (B) any terms or conditions applicable to the receipt 
                of such funds; and
          (3) in a case in which a school enters into a contract with a 
        foreign source, the terms and conditions of such contract.
  (b) Definitions.--In this section:
          (1) The term ``applicable program'' has the meaning given 
        that term in section 400 of the General Education Provisions 
        Act (20 U.S.C. 1221).
          (2) The terms ``elementary school'' and ``secondary school'' 
        have the meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the 
        Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        7801).
          (3) The term ``Federal financial assistance'' has the meaning 
        given that term in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, United 
        States Code.
          (4) The term ``foreign source'' has the meaning given that 
        term in section 117(h) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
        U.S.C. 1011f(h)).
    Amend the title so as to read:
    A bill to require public elementary and secondary schools 
to disclose certain funds received from, or contracts with, a 
foreign source, and for other purposes.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 5567, the Combating the Lies of 
Authoritarians in School Systems Act, is to restrict school 
districts from accepting any funds from the People's Republic 
of China or from individuals and entities with ties to its 
government and to require school districts to disclose any 
receipt of funding from other foreign governments.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

                             118TH CONGRESS

First Session--Hearings

    On September 19, 2023, the Committee's Subcommittee on 
Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a 
hearing on ``Academic Freedom Under Attack: Loosening the CCP's 
Grip on America's Classrooms.'' The purpose of the hearing was 
to examine the covert influence of foreign governments and 
organizations, particularly the Chinese Communist Party, on 
U.S. K-12 schools. Testifying before the Subcommittee were Mr. 
Michael Gonzalez, Senior Fellow, Heritage Foundation, 
Washington, DC; Ms. Gisela Perez Kusakawa, Executive Director, 
Asian American Scholar Forum, New York, NY; Mrs. Nicole Neily, 
President, Parents Defending Education, Arlington, VA; Mr. Ryan 
Walters, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Oklahoma 
State Department of Education, Oklahoma City, OK.

Second Session--Hearings

    On May 8, 2024, the Committee's Subcommittee on Early 
Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education held a hearing 
on ``Confronting Pervasive Antisemitism in K-12 Schools.'' The 
purpose of the hearing was to discuss the proliferation of 
antisemitism in K-12 schools. During the hearing, Committee 
Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) asked New York City Chancellor 
David Banks if foreign governments donate significant funding 
to NYC Public Schools. Chancellor Banks stated that the Qatar 
Foundation did, and he followed up after the hearing and 
confirmed that the Italian government and the Consulate General 
of the Republic of Korea contributed funding to NYC K-12 
schools. Testifying before the Subcommittee were Mr. David 
Banks, Chancellor, New York City Public Schools, New York City, 
NY; Ms. Karla Silvestre, President, Montgomery County Board of 
Education, Montgomery County Public Schools, Rockville, MD; Mr. 
Emerson Sykes, Senior Staff Attorney, American Civil Liberties 
Union, New York, NY; Ms. Enikia Ford Morthel, Superintendent, 
Berkeley Unified School District, Berkeley, CA.

Legislative Action

    On September 19, 2023, Representative David Joyce (R-OH) 
introduced H.R. 5567, the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians 
in School Systems Act, with Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-
NY), Ed Case (D-HI), 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), and Jenniffer 
Gonzalez-Colon (R-PR) as original co-sponsors. The bill was 
referred solely to the Committee on Education and the 
Workforce. On June 13, 2024, the Committee considered H.R. 5567 
in legislative session and reported it favorably, as amended, 
to the House of Representatives by a recorded vote of 23-16. 
The Committee considered the following amendments to H.R. 5567:
          1. Representative Williams offered an Amendment in 
        the Nature of a Substitute that strikes section 2 and 
        inserts a minimum threshold of $10,000 so as to ensure 
        nominal gifts do not trigger reporting. The amendment 
        was adopted by a recorded vote of 23-16.
          2. Representative Scott offered an amendment that 
        adds an authorization of $300 million per year starting 
        in fiscal year 2025. The amendment failed by a recorded 
        vote of 16-24.

                            COMMITTEE VIEWS

                              INTRODUCTION

    Over the last decade, the Chinese Communist Party has 
infiltrated American K-12 schools through grants, sister school 
partnerships, and other programming through an unassuming 
program called Confucius Classrooms, a trojan horse for Chinese 
propaganda.

                 CHINA'S ACTIVITY IN U.S. K-12 SCHOOLS

    Styled as language and culture programs, Confucius 
Classrooms are an important element of the PRC's global 
influence campaign. The Chinese government's effort to forge 
ties with American schools through its Ministry of Education 
Office of Chinese Language Council International, which until 
recently was known as ``Hanban,'' is one facet of the Chinese 
Communist Party's (CCP) broader soft-power strategy to 
influence policy in nations throughout the world. The United 
States Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found 
that expanding Confucius Classrooms in the United States has 
been a top priority for the Chinese government.\1\ Many K-12 
schools eagerly accepted CCP-linked grants, which came with 
perks including fully funded teacher exchanges, Chinese 
language programs, and opportunities for American students to 
learn in China.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\China's Impact on the U.S. Education System--Permanent 
Subcommittee on Investigations.
    \2\Little Red Classrooms--Parents Defending Education.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Confucious Classrooms are smaller-scale, K-12 versions of 
Confucious Institutes that the CCP has pushed for on U.S. 
college campuses. These institutes purport to teach Chinese 
language and culture. Confucius Institutes are established as 
partnerships between a host institution, a Chinese partner 
(usually a Chinese university), and a Chinese government 
agency. The Ministry of Education Office of Chinese Language 
Council International funds each Confucius Institute, often at 
around $100,000 per year, and asks host institutions to match 
those funds with their own contributions, usually classroom and 
office space.
    China heavily encouraged the creation of Confucius 
Classrooms, and many of these developed as offshoots of a 
Confucius Institute. China strategically deployed and rapidly 
expanded their Confucius Classrooms, going from very few in 
2008 to more than a thousand worldwide by 2017. More than 500 
American K-12 schools have hosted Confucius Classrooms, aided 
in part by the Asia Society, an American nonprofit that 
previously ran a network of 100 Confucius Classrooms before 
they ended the partnership in 2021.\3\ A Parents Defending 
Education report tracked Chinese affiliation in 143 schools 
across 34 states, with at least seven still active today.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Schools: Confucius Classrooms Network Online (asiasociety.org).
    \4\Little Red Classrooms--Parents Defending Education.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Confucius Institute funding comes with strings attached 
that compromise academic freedom. The Chinese government 
approves teachers, events, and speakers and requires teachers 
to sign contracts pledging they will not damage the national 
interests of China. The contracts make clear a Chinese director 
or teacher will be terminated if they ``violate Chinese laws'' 
or ``engage in activities detrimental to national interests'' 
and states that they must ``conscientiously safeguard national 
interests.''\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\Microsoft Word--20190227 Chinas Impact on the US Education 
System (senate.gov).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

            OTHER COUNTRIES' INFLUENCE IN U.S. K-12 SCHOOLS

    While it appears that no other country has a program 
similar in scope and size to the CCP's propaganda campaign in 
American schools, other countries have also invested in 
language and cultural educational programs in American K-12 
schools.
    One notable example is Qatar. The Qatar Foundation, along 
with its subsidiaries like Qatar Foundation International and 
the Qatar National Research Fund, have been actively involved 
in influencing American K-12 education through financial 
partnerships with individual schools.\6\ From 2009 to 2017, the 
Qatar Foundation allocated $30.6 million to various schools 
across 12 U.S. states. The funds are predominantly directed 
towards facilitating Arabic language programs, and they cover 
expenses for teacher education, materials, and salaries. These 
contributions have taken various forms, from direct funds to 
professional development initiatives, such as teacher councils 
and language conferences. Additionally, there are instances of 
school districts, like the Tucson Unified School District and 
New Haven Public Schools, receiving substantial grants over 
multiple years.\7\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \6\FARA_Memo_with_Exhibits_R-1.pdf (freebeacon.com).
    \7\FARA_Memo_with_Exhibits_R-1.pdf (freebeacon.com).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Other countries have also made notable donations to U.S. K-
12 schools. After the May 8 Subcommittee hearing on 
antisemitism in K-12 schools, New York City Public Schools 
Chancellor David Banks informed Committee staff that the 
Italian-American Committee on Education, which is connected to 
the Italian government, contributed $257,000 to New York City 
Public Schools from 2021 to 2024. Chancellor Banks also 
reported that the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in 
New York contributed $16,000 to support Korean instruction and 
programming in New York City Public Schools. It is unclear the 
extent to which these foreign ties had been publicized prior to 
the Committee's request for information.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\Documentation emailed from New York City Public Schools to 
Committee staff on May 22, 2024.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                               CONCLUSION

    It is unacceptable that foreign adversaries such as the CCP 
are attempting to influence U.S. K-12 schools. Congress should 
take immediate action to ensure that students are not being 
indoctrinated with communist propaganda. Congress should also 
take action to ensure that foreign influence is fully 
disclosed. This bill will help ensure that the Chinese 
government does not take advantage of local school districts 
and that the U.S. Secretary of Education is aware of all 
significant spending by foreign countries in the U.S. K-12 
education system.

                                SUMMARY

    On September 19, 2023, Representatives Joyce introduced 
H.R. 5567, the Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School 
Systems Act (CLASS) with Representatives Stefanik, Case, 
Williams, Diaz-Balart, Armstrong, Balderson, D'Esposito, 
Gimenez, McClain, Carey, Hinson, and Gonzalez-Colon as original 
co-sponsors. The CLASS Act requires school districts to 
disclose to the Secretary of Education within 30 days any 
instance of them receive funding or entering into a contract 
with a foreign source.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\H.R.5567--Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems 
Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                  H.R. 5567 SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY

Section 1--Short title

     Names the bill the Combating the Lies of 
Authoritarians in School Systems Act or CLASS Act.

Section 2--Disclosure of foreign funding and contracts

     The bill requires that, as a condition of 
receiving federal financial assistance under a U.S. Department 
of Education program by a public elementary school or public 
secondary school, the school shall report to the Secretary of 
Education when receiving foreign funds in excess of $10,000, 
and such reporting shall include:
           The name and country of origin of the 
        foreign source.
           The amount of funds received from the 
        source.
           The terms and conditions applicable to 
        the receipt of funds.
           The terms and conditions of any contract 
        with a foreign source.

                       EXPLANATION OF AMENDMENTS

    The amendments, including the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute, are explained in the body of this report.

              APPLICATION OF LAW TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

    Section 102(b)(3) of Public Law 104-1 requires a 
description of the application of this bill to the legislative 
branch. H.R. 5567 prohibits elementary and secondary schools 
from accepting funds from or entering into contracts with the 
Government of the People's Republic of China and the Chinese 
Communist Party as a condition on receipt of Federal financial 
assistance. H.R. 5567 is applicable to public elementary and 
secondary schools, and therefore does not apply to the 
Legislative Branch.

                       UNFUNDED MANDATE STATEMENT

    Pursuant to Section 423 of the Congressional Budget and 
Impoundment Control Act of 1974, Pub. L. No. 93-344 (as amended 
by Section 101(a)(2) of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 
1995, Pub. L. No. 104-4), the Committee adopts as its own the 
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office (CBO) pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 5567 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

                            ROLL CALL VOTES

    Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires the Committee Report to include for 
each record vote on a motion to report the measure or matter 
and on any amendments offered to the measure or matter the 
total number of votes for and against and the names of the 
Members voting for and against.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]

         STATEMENT OF GENERAL PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

    In accordance with clause (3)(c) of House rule XIII, the 
goal of H.R. 5567 is to ensure transparency by requiring school 
districts to disclose to the Secretary of Education any 
instance of them receiving funding from or entering into 
contract with a foreign source.

                    DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS

    No provision of H.R. 5567 establishes or reauthorizes a 
program of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of 
another Federal program, a program that was included in any 
report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 
pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program 
related to a program identified in the most recent Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance.

  STATEMENT OF OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, 
the committee's oversight findings and recommendations are 
reflected in the body of this report.

                       REQUIRED COMMITTEE HEARING

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(6) of rule XIII the 
following hearing held during the 118th Congress was used to 
develop or consider H.R. 5567: On September 19, 2023, the 
Committee's Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and 
Secondary Education held a hearing on ``Academic Freedom Under 
Attack: Loosening the CCP's Grip on America's Classrooms.''

               NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY AND CBO COST ESTIMATE

    With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 and with respect 
to requirements of clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives and section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee adopts as its 
own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office.

    [GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]


    Legislation summary: On June 13, 2024, the House Committee 
on Education and the Workforce ordered to be reported eight 
bills and one joint resolution. This document provides 
estimates for seven of those bills and the resolution.
    Generally, the legislation would:
           Repeal a rule submitted by the Department of 
        Education relating to ``Nondiscrimination on the Basis 
        of Sex in Education Programs or Activities Receiving 
        Federal Financial Assistance'';
           Allow nurse practitioners and physician 
        assistants to diagnose, treat, and certify an injury 
        and extent of disability for the purposes of federal 
        workers' compensation;
           Require elementary and secondary schools and 
        institutions of higher education to meet new 
        requirements in order to maintain eligibility for 
        funding from the Department of Education;
           Prevent student athletes from being 
        considered the employees of an institution of higher 
        education; and
           Authorize appropriations for the educational 
        activities of the United States Holocaust Memorial 
        Museum.
    Estimated Federal cost: The estimated costs of the 
legislation fall within budget function 500 (education, 
training, employment, and social services).
    Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the 
legislation will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2024. 
The estimated costs do not include any interaction effects 
among the pieces of legislation. If all seven bills and the 
resolution were combined and enacted as a single piece of 
legislation, the estimated costs could be different than the 
sum of the separate estimates, although CBO expects that any 
difference would be small.
    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 8606 would cost $8 
million over the 2024-2029 period. Implementing the remaining 
bills and the joint resolution would each cost less than 
$500,000 over the same period. Any related spending would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    H.J. Res. 165, a joint resolution providing for 
Congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United 
States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of 
Education relating to ``Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Sex 
in Education Programs or Activities Receiving Federal Financial 
Assistance'': H.J. Res 165 would disapprove the rule submitted 
by the Department of Education relating to ``Nondiscrimination 
on the Basis of Sex in Education Programs or Activities 
Receiving Federal Financial Assistance,'' as published in the 
Federal Register on April 29, 2024.
    The rule amends title IX of the Education Amendments of 
1972 (title IX), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of 
sex in any education program or activity receiving federal 
financial assistance. The rule clarifies definitions related to 
sex-based discrimination and harassment and specifies the 
requirements for grievance procedures, and requirements for 
preventing sexual discrimination and remedying its effects.
    Institutions that fail to comply with title IX, as amended 
by the rule, could lose federal funding. However, CBO expects 
that institutions will comply with the regulations to avoid 
doing so. On that basis, CBO estimates that disapproving the 
rule would not affect institutions' eligibility for federal 
student aid.
    Based on the costs of similar activities, CBO estimates 
that implementing the resolution would cost less than $500,000 
over the 2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be 
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
    H.R. 618, Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for 
Injured Federal Workers Act: H.R. 618 would allow nurse 
practitioners and physician assistants to diagnose, prescribe 
treatment, and certify an injury and the extent of disability 
for the purpose of compensating federal workers under the 
Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA). Using information 
from the Department of Labor, CBO expects that nonphysician 
providers would be compensated at the same rate as physicians 
and that total benefits provided to injured federal workers 
would not significantly change. Some people may receive 
treatment more quickly under the bill, which could increase 
costs over the 10-year period because some payments to medical 
providers that would have occurred in 2035 under current law 
could be paid in 2034. On the other hand, if injured workers 
receive treatment faster, some may return to work more quickly, 
which could reduce costs. CBO has no basis to estimate which 
effect would predominate, but we expect that those effects 
would roughly offset each other. Thus, CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 618 would affect net direct spending by an 
insignificant amount.
    The FECA payments are mandatory. The costs of those 
payments are charged to a claimant's employing agency, which 
reimburses the Department of Labor out of its salaries and 
expense accounts. Any effect on discretionary spending would be 
subject to future appropriation actions.
    H.R. 5567, CLASS Act: H.R. 5567 would require public 
elementary and secondary schools that receive funding from the 
Department of Education to disclose to the department funds 
received or contracts signed with foreign sources that are more 
than $10,000.
    CBO expects schools would comply with the new requirements; 
thus, enacting the bill would not affect their eligibility to 
receive federal funds. Based on the costs of similar 
activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost 
the Department of Education less than $500,000 over the 2024-
2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    H.R. 6816, PROTECT Our Kids Act: H.R. 6816 would prohibit 
elementary and secondary schools that receive direct or 
indirect support from the government of the People's Republic 
of China (including Confucius Institutes), from receiving funds 
from the Department of Education.
    The 2018 National Defense Authorization Act prohibited 
institutions of higher education from using federal funding for 
Chinese language programs at Confucius Institutes. As a result, 
nearly all Confucius Institutes at postsecondary institutions 
have closed, according to a Government Accountability Office 
report released in 2023.\1\ On that basis, CBO expects schools 
would comply with the new requirements; thus, enacting the bill 
would not affect their eligibility to receive federal funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\Government Accountability Office, China: With Nearly All U.S. 
Confucius Institutes Closed, Some Schools Sought Alternative Language 
Support, GAO-20-105981 (October 2023), www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-
105981.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Based on the costs of similar activities, CBO estimates 
that implementing the bill would cost the Department of 
Education less than $500,000 over the 2024-2029 period. Any 
related spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    H.R. 8534, Protecting Student Athletes' Economic Freedom 
Act: The bill would prohibit student athletes from being 
considered an employee of an institution based on the athletes' 
participation in a varsity intercollegiate athletic program or 
competition. Based on the costs of similar activities, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would cost the Department 
of Education less than $500,000 over the 2024-2029 period. Any 
related spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    H.R. 8606, Never Again Education Reauthorization and Study 
Act of 2024: H.R. 8606 would authorize the appropriation of $2 
million each year from 2026 through 2030 for the Director of 
the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum to support 
education and training related to the lessons of the Holocaust. 
Under current law, the authorization of appropriations for 
those activities expires at the end of 2025. The bill also 
would require the Director to conduct a study on the 
educational activities being carried out at the state and local 
level. Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts and 
using historical spending patterns for those activities, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 8606 would cost $8 million 
over the 2024-2029 period and $2 million after 2029.
    H.R 8648, Civil Rights Protection Act of 2024: H.R. 8648 
would require any institution of higher education that receives 
federal student aid to make publicly available its process for 
addressing violations of title VI of the Civil Rights Act and 
any complaints received regarding alleged violations. The bill 
also would require the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at 
the Department of Education to give monthly briefings on 
violations specific to race, color, or national origin, and 
report the findings of institutional complaints.
    CBO expects institutions would comply with the new 
requirements; thus, enacting the bill would not affect their 
eligibility for federal student aid. Based on the costs of 
similar activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill 
would cost the Department of Education less than $500,000 over 
the 2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to 
the availability of appropriated funds.
    H.R. 8649, Transparency in Reporting Adversarial 
Contributions to Education Act: The bill would require 
elementary and secondary schools that receive funding from the 
Department of Education to disclose to parents and the public 
any contributions received from foreign countries and the terms 
or conditions of such contributions.
    CBO expects schools would comply with the new requirements; 
thus, enacting the bill would not affect their eligibility to 
receive federal funds. Based on the costs of similar 
activities, CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost 
the Department of Education less than $500,000 over the 2024-
2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the 
availability of appropriated funds.
    Pay-As-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go 
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement 
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or 
revenues. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 618 would affect net 
direct spending by less than $500,000 over the 2024-2034 
period.
    Increase in long-term net direct spending and deficits: CBO 
estimates that enacting the joint resolution or any of the 
seven bills in this estimate would not increase net direct 
spending or deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year 
periods beginning in 2035.
    Mandates: H.R. 8534 would impose an intergovernmental 
mandate as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
by prohibiting states from designating varsity athletes of a 
school, conference, or association as employees of that entity. 
CBO estimates that the net costs of the direct effects of the 
legislation would not result in additional expenditures or 
losses in revenue; therefore, the cost of the preemption would 
not exceed the threshold established in UMRA for 
intergovernmental mandates ($100 million in 2024, adjusted 
annually for inflation).
    The bill would not impose a private-sector mandate as 
defined in UMRA.
    Enacting the legislation may result in other secondary 
effects on private entities by denying employment-related 
benefits to varsity athletes that they may otherwise have 
qualified for as an employee. However, CBO's estimate of those 
effects is subject to uncertainty because the question of 
whether athletes affected by the bill should be recategorized 
as employees of their institutions remains unsettled as court 
rulings, administrative decisions, and changes in policies of 
the National Collegiate Athletics Association are announced. 
What effect, if any, the bill would have on private entities 
would depend on the final adjudication of the matter.
    None of the remaining pieces of legislation contained in 
this estimate would impose intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal costs: Meredith Decker 
(Department of Labor), Leah Koestner (Department of Education), 
Susanne Mehlman (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum), 
Garrett Quenneville (Department of Education); Mandates: Erich 
Dvorak, Brandon Lever, and Grace Watson.
    Estimate reviewed by: Elizabeth Cove Delisle, Chief, Income 
Security Cost Estimates Unit; Justin Humphrey, Chief, Finance, 
Housing, and Education Cost Estimates Unit; Kathleen 
FitzGerald, Chief, Public and Private Mandates Unit; H. Samuel 
Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.
    Estimate approved by: Phillip L. Swagel, Director, 
Congressional Budget Office.

                        COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

    Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison of the 
costs that would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 5567. 
However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) of that rule provides that this 
requirement does not apply when, as with the present report, 
the Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate for the bill 
from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

         CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

    As reported by the Committee, H.R. 5567 makes no changes to 
existing law.

                             MINORITY VIEWS

                              Introduction

    H.R. 5567, Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School 
Systems (CLASS) Act, requires public elementary and secondary 
schools to disclose any receipt of funds ``in excess of $10,000 
in the aggregate from a foreign source, or entering into one or 
more contracts with an aggregate value in excess of $10,000 
with a foreign source''\1\, to the Secretary of Education 
within 30 days of receiving funds or entering a contract as a 
condition of receiving federal funds. The Majority claims the 
only way to tackle ``the pervasive influence of foreign funding 
in our K-12 schools'' is by ``increasing transparency in our 
schools funding streams'' in order to ``counter malicious 
influence in our education'', as ``the threat that 
unaccountable foreign funding poses to the next generation is 
well documented'' and ``adversarial countries that wish to 
promote their un-American values in the classrooms of our 
children have long abused U.S. laws that allow them to exert 
influence through shady financial contributions to public 
institutions.''\2\ Yet, H.R. 5667 fails to prove that 
pervasive, foreign influence exists in public schools, raises a 
number of administrative questions and concerns for public 
schools, and ignores real issues facing public education.
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    \1\Combating the Lies of Authoritarians in School Systems, H.R. 
5567, 118th Cong. Sec. 2.
    \2\Markup Hearing of H.R. 5567 Before the H. Comm. On Educ. & the 
Workforce, 118th Cong. (Statement of Rep. Brandon Williams).
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                          SUMMARY OF CONCERNS

Foreign influence has not posed a threat to K-12 classrooms
    Confucius Classrooms, which are affiliated with Confucious 
Institutes, are centers for Chinese culture and language 
established at public and private elementary and secondary 
schools--either to bolster a Chinese program already at the 
school or to start a new one.\3\ Over nearly five years, the 
number of Classrooms has dropped from more than 500 to 
currently no more than 16.\4\ Many countries around the world 
lack quality Chinese language and culture resources and 
Confucious Institutes and Classrooms provide those resources 
for free.\5\ Experts have summed up the current state of these 
programs, saying ``[t]he harsh reality is that Confucius 
Institutes/Confucius Classrooms stepped up to fulfill a need 
that governments were not--and they were happy to accept a 
`freebie,' . . . . Now that Confucius Institutes have been 
tainted by wider distaste and suspicion of the Chinese 
government, this `freebie' now has a cost.''\6\
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    \3\China's Impact on the U.S. Education System: Hearing Before the 
Subcomm. on Investigations of the S. Comm. on Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affairs, 116th Cong., 90,147 (2019).
    \4\Confucius Institutes Around the World--2024, Dig Mandarin (Mar. 
20, 2024) https://www.digmandarin.com/confucius-institutes-around-the-
world.html; Beth Wallis, Tulsa Public Schools ended Chinese language 
program weeks before Oklahoma Superintendent's Congressional testimony, 
National Public Radio KOSU (Sept. 29, 2023) https://www.kosu.org/
education/2023-09-29/tulsa-public-schools-ended-chinese-language-
program-weeks-before-oklahoma-superintendents-congressional-testimony; 
Little Red Classrooms China's Infiltration of American K-12 Schools, 
Defending Ed. (Jul. 26, 2023) https://defendinged.org/investigations/
little-red-classrooms-china-infiltration-of-american-K-12-schools/.
    \5\Lin Yang, Controversial Confucius Institutes Returning to U.S. 
Schools Under New Name, VOA News, (June 27, 2022) https://
www.voanews.com/a/controversial-confucius-institutes-returning-to-u-s-
schools-under-new-name/6635906.html.
    \6\Id.
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    Parents Defending Education (PDE), a right-wing non-profit 
organization, published a report in July 2023 entitled, 
``Little Red Classrooms: China's Infiltration of American K-12 
Schools.'' The report alleges undue Chinese influence in 
America through the existence of Confucius Institutes, 
Classrooms, and related ``programming'' that currently exists 
or previously existed in public schools across the United 
States, including in areas near U.S. military bases.\7\ Despite 
the claims in the report, Committee Democratic staff have been 
unable to locate credible evidence to support either the claims 
made by the Majority's and PDE's that there is inappropriate 
and undue foreign influence in our nation's K-12 public 
schools. In 2019, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs' Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations 
held a hearing entitled ``China's Impact on the U.S. Education 
System''. The hearing was held the day after the Committee 
released a bipartisan staff report with the same title.\8\ 
While the staff report made recommendations that schools should 
ensure that Chinese partnership organization's ``vetting, 
screening and interview processes are aligned with their own 
hiring protocols and procedures''\9\ and that ``the State 
Department should demand reciprocal and fair treatments of its 
diplomats and employees in China.''\10\ the Committee did not 
find security risks or curriculum vulnerability, as claimed by 
the Majority.
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    \7\Little Red Classrooms China's Infiltration of American K-12 
Schools, Defending Ed. (Jul. 26 , 2023) https://defendinged.org/
investigations/little-red-classrooms-china-infiltration-of-american-K-
12-schools/.
    \8\China's Impact on the U.S. Education System: hearing Before the 
Subcomm. on Investigations of the S. Comm. on Homeland Security & 
Governmental Affairs, 116th Cong., 80 (2019).
    \9\Id. at 91.
    \10\Id. at 92.
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H.R. 5567 Will Raise Administrative Questions and Concerns for Public 
        Schools
    Republicans argue schools should come into compliance with 
H.R. 5567 without additional financial resources to fund staff, 
monitoring programs, and other necessary support to ensure such 
compliance. The overwhelming majority of K-12 schools are not 
equipped to identify where their donors are from. For example, 
a parent who is not yet a U.S. citizen could potentially be a 
``foreign source'' or a donation from a local business that is 
owned by someone who is not a U.S. citizen also could be a 
``foreign source''. However, this information is not tracked by 
most schools when receiving donations, planning to purchase 
materials to update buildings or contracting with companies to 
complete construction projects.
    Additionally, the bill does not mention the roles of local 
educational agencies (LEAs) and state education agencies (SEAs) 
in this process. Typically, LEAs and SEAs distribute Federal 
financial assistance to schools in the form of services after 
they receive funds from ED. The main pathway that has funds 
move directly from ED to schools is funds authorized under 
Title I-A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, adding 
to the confusion this bill would bring.\11\
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    \11\Fast Facts Title I, Nat'l Ctr. For Ed. Stats. https://
nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=158 (last visited Jun. 14, 2024).
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H.R. 5567 Does Nothing to Address Current Issues in Public Education
    There are real issues facing public education that 
Americans are concerned about, such as inadequate early 
childhood education, achievement gaps, teacher shortages, and 
unfettered access to guns. For example, according to the Kaiser 
Family Foundation, guns are the leading cause of death among 
children and teens.\12\ According to data provided by 
Everytown--a gun violence prevention organization--``[i]n 2023, 
there were at least 158 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, 
resulting in 45 deaths and 106 injuries nationally.''\13\ 
However, the Majority chooses to spend its time focusing on 
issues that do not present challenges for students or the 
public education system. Foreign influence is not mentioned as 
a top concern in the National Center for Education Statistics 
(NCES) Report on the Condition of Education 2024.\14\ This sort 
of legislation does not address the root cause of issues that 
are actually harming students or assist with helping our 
students learn. Similar to H.R. 6816, the Promoting Responsible 
Oversight to Eliminate Communist Teachings (PROTECT) Act, and 
H.R. 8649, the Transparency in Reporting Adversarial 
Contributions to Education (TRACE) Act--two bills also 
considered in the same markup as H.R. 5567--this bill is a 
solution in search of a problem and does nothing to benefit 
students or the public education system.
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    \12\Matt McGough, et al., Child and Teen Firearm Mortality in the 
U.S. and Peer Countries, Kaiser Family Foundation (Jul. 18, 2024) 
https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/child-and-teen-
firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/.
    \13\Gunfire on School Grounds in the United States, Everytown for 
Gun Safety, https://everytownresearch.org/maps/gunfire-on-school-
grounds/ (last visited Jun.14, 2024).
    \14\Veronique Irwin, Report on the Condition of Education 2024, 
Nat'l Ctr. for Ed. Stats. (May 2024) https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2024/
2024144.pdf.
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        DEMOCRATIC AMENDMENT OFFERED DURING MARKUP OF H.R. 5567

    Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) put forward an amendment 
to provide funds to assist with the administrative burden of 
complying with the bill. Significant effort may need to be 
expended to investigate new and existing contracts, to 
determine whether existing or potential business partners are 
foreign governments or ``foreign entities of concern'', to 
create and maintain systems to keep track of all the new 
information and respond to inquiries, and to train staff in 
each school on the reporting and compliance with the bill. The 
amendment authorized $300 million for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 and 
each subsequent fiscal year to carry out the requirements in 
the bill.\15\ Committee Republicans rejected this amendment.
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    \15\According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 
there were 99,388 public elementary and secondary schools in the U.S. 
during the 2022-2023 school year. NCES, Digest of Education Statistics 
tbl. 216.10 (2023), https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/
dt23_216.10.asp. Three hundred million dollars would provide $3000 per 
year to each of those schools to offset the costs of compliance. In 
reality, the administrative burden this bill poses could easily require 
a full-time administrative staff person at each school. Providing a 
modest salary of $50,000 to each of those schools for such a position 
would cost approximately 5 billion dollars.
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                               CONCLUSION

    H.R. 5567 is a solution in search of a problem. While the 
Majority claims adversarial governments are abusing U.S. laws 
and exerting influence through shady financial contributions to 
public schools; it has not proven any such foreign influence 
even exists. Furthermore, H.R. 5567 raises a number of 
administrative questions and concerns for public schools, while 
doing nothing to address real issues facing public education. 
For the reasons stated above, we urge the House of 
Representatives to oppose H.R. 5567.

                                   Robert C. ``Bobby'' Scott,
                                           Ranking Member.
                                   Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan,
                                   Suzanne Bonamici,
                                   Mark Takano,
                                   Mark DeSaulnier,
                                   Pramila Jayapal,
                                           Members of Congress.

                                  [all]