New York Republicans demand answers from Governor Hochul on Chinese funding in state school systems

Members of Congress from New York are demanding answers from the state's Democrat governor, Kathy Hochul, following a report released by Parents Defending Education (PDE) which documents the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) influence and the millions of dollars of funding flowing into America’s K-12 classrooms.

"Unfortunately, this investigation discovered 12 school systems in our own state have received money from the CCP," the letter reads. "This includes the New York City Department of Education, which received $375,575.00 in CCP-connected funding. Considering China’s adversarial relationship with the United States, this is deeply problematic and presents a national security concern for our constituents and state."

PDE, a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting indoctrination in the classroom, released its "Little Red Classrooms" report last month that cited evidence linking the Chinese Communist Party to American K-12 schools, which found that students are subjected to Chinese propaganda, language and culture programming through state-funded programs. 

Programs vetted and managed by China’s government have infiltrated 34 states and Washington, D.C., which impacts approximately 170,000 students across 143 school districts, according to the report. 

New York Republicans, led by Rep. Brandon Williams, Rep. Elise Stefanik, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Rep. Claudia Tenney, Rep. Mike Lawler, Rep. Marc Molinaro and Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, sent a letter to Hochul today asking for answers on the 12 New York School systems, including the New York Department of Education, that receive funding from the CCP. 

China’s government has infiltrated 34 states and Washington, D.C., which impacts approximately 170,000 students across 143 school districts, according to PDE's report.  (istock)

Rep. Stefanik told Fox News Digital in a statement that by funneling over $17 million from CCP financial institutions into K-12 schools, Communist China is invading America’s classrooms. 

"New York’s Far Left Democrat leaders like Governor Hochul are asleep at the wheel, instead of prioritizing their Far Left Wishlist, they should be putting an immediate stop to the flow of cash for CCP access to the 12 New York school systems including the New York Department of Education," she said. "This alarming discovery is an egregious breach of both our national security and an attempt by China to indoctrinate our next generation."

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Nicole Neily, president and founder of PDE told Fox News Digital they are grateful to the House members’ efforts to engage Gov. Hochul on the issue. 

"Transparency and accountability in public schools is not a partisan issue, and we hope the governor uses the powers at her disposal to investigate the extent of these programs in New York public schools," she said. 

House New York Republicans demanded action from Gov. Kathy Hochul to take steps to limit the CCP's influence in K-12 schools.  (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, File)

The letter calls on the governor to take action to prevent the threat of China’s influence by directing the New York DOE to collect data from public school districts on funding and programming provided by organizations that are known to be funded by foreign entities and requiring school districts to release annual reports that show all foreign funds K-12 schools receive and the programs they fund. 

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The Chinese government has gained influence and advanced the CCP agenda through grants, sister school partnerships and other programming such as "Confucius Institutes" that have been used to promote the CCP's "Belt and Road" initiative, the letter explains. In 2020, the State Department designated the programs as a "foreign mission" of the Chinese government. 

In addition, the lawmakers demand schools investigate how these CCP-linked partnerships might have exposed student data to benefit the Chinese government and military operations and look into ties to Chinese military and energy universities that operate at the instruction of its government.

The CCP has accessed 12 New York school systems including the New York Department of Education, according to the report.  (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

"The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest threat to freedom we face today," the letter concluded. "As public officials, we share a mutual interest in strengthening our security and protecting our communities and constituents. We look forward to working with you in preventing our students and their families from falling victim to the malfeasance of the CCP."

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Rep. Williams proposed his recently introduced bill, H.R. 1800 or the Stop Funding Our Adversaries Act, as a way to strengthen American independence and stop taxpayer dollars from funding research with the CCP. 

"The Chinese Communist Party is wrapping its tentacles of espionage and influence around America’s schoolchildren," he said. "Before it’s too late, the U.S. needs to take bold steps to expel all CCP involvement from our education institutions, especially our K-12 classrooms."

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Kendall Tietz is a Production Assistant with Fox News Digital.