Investigations
Little Red Classrooms
China's Infiltration of American K-12 Schools…
Investigations
FOIAs Reveal Additional Details on TJ’s Foreign Partnerships
In March 2023, PDE filed a public records request with Fairfax County Public Schools requesting records related to employees, board members, and volunteers affiliated with Thomas Jefferson High School for…
Investigations
Fairfax County Public Schools’ top STEM academy Fund received over a million dollars in funding from Chinese organizations, documents show.
Fairfax County Public Schools’ TJ Partnership Fund has received over $1,000,000 worth of donations from Chinese interests since 2014. Documents reveal that the 501c (3) nonprofit operating out…
Investigations
Incidents
Fairfax County Public Schools staff appeared to undercut principal regarding partnerships with China-affiliated groups; principal appeared to lie about partnerships
Parents Defending Education previously discovered through public records requests that Fairfax County Public Schools allowed the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology to let…
Incidents
Emails reveal that the Illinois Math and Science Academy looks to coordinate programming with Chinese Thomas Schools, facilitated multiple visits by educators from Beijing
Documents obtained in a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that Illinois’ top STEM school, Illinois Math and Science Academy (IMSA), is seeking to develop programming in coordination with…
Incidents
Thomas Jefferson High School paid staff to create curricula guidance for China-affiliated groups using school’s likeness
Parents Defending Education previously reported that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) provided China-affiliated entities with student data and building layouts in exchange for millions…
Incidents
Thomas Jefferson High School had job listing for China-affiliated school with better benefits; provided curricula materials to Chinese entity
Parents Defending Education previously reported that Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST) provided China-affiliated entities with student data and building layouts in exchange…
Incidents
Thomas Jefferson High School provided school layouts, photos of classrooms, and student research projects to China-affiliated entities in exchange for millions of dollars
Parents Defending Education submitted multiple public records requests to Fairfax County Public Schools seeking records regarding Thomas Jefferson High School’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. PDE received numerous documents…
Incidents
Muscatine, Iowa students receive trip to China paid for by Chinese government
Muscatine Community School District in Iowa sent two dozen students to China in January after receiving an invitation from the Chinese Ministry of Education at the behest of Chinese President…
Incidents
Tacoma Public Schools has ties to Chinese Communist Party
In what may be the closest and longest-standing relationship between a U.S. K-12 school and the Chinese government, Tacoma Public Schools in Washington has fostered ties with a Confucius program…
Incidents
Virginia’s Secretary of Education sends letter to superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools requesting information on Thomas Jefferson High School’s connections to Chinese Communist Party
Update as of 2/12/2024: The superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools has since indicated in a letter sent on August 29, 2023 that the Thomas Jefferson High School…
Incidents
Media
ONE AMERICA NEWS: China May Be In The Panama Canal, But They Are Already In America’s Classrooms
America’s classrooms are already in the crosshairs of the political zeitgeist today. From closing our schools during the pandemic, to the debate over CRT, to the ensuing battle over gender…
Media
THE MATT WALSH SHOW: Why Did This U.S. Public School Take Millions In From China? Here’s The Story That Will Shock You
Today on the Matt Walsh Show, one of the top public schools in the country sold its blueprints — and everything else — to the communist Chinese government. This raises…
Media
THE DAILY WIRE: Virginia School System Sold China A Handbook On ‘How To Clone’ America’s Top STEM School
A Virginia school district sold the Chinese Communist Party curriculum and blueprints of America’s top STEM magnet school so the CCP could replicate it, documents reveal.
Media
THE HILL: Is China teaching your child in public school?
Public displays of antisemitism on college campus over the last year have focused attention on foreign entities funding American higher education. But less publicized — and more insidious — are…
Media
THE EPOCH TIMES: Sen. Cotton Calls on AG Garland to Investigate Schools Allegedly Linked to Communist China
‘Undisclosed and unmonitored financial relationships between U.S. academia and the CCP are glaring national security risks,’ Sen. Tom Cotton said.
Media
DAILY MAIL: Iowa high schoolers thank Xi for ‘fully funding’ field trips to China
The Chinese Communist Party paid for multiple trips to China for small-town Iowa high schoolers who exchanged letters with President Xi Jinping and praised the country and its leader. Shocking…
Media
UPWARD NEWS: China’s Push for CCP-Aligned Teachers in Texas Schools
Documents show history between a Texas charter school system and the Chinese government.
Media
NEWSWEEK: China May Be Influencing Classrooms in These States
There are fresh concerns that the Chinese state may be using educational funding to influence a number of academic institutions across the United States, after the issue was the subject…
Media
THE DAILY SIGNAL: Leader of Parents Defending Education Demands Congress Act on China’s Invasive Classroom Initiatives
The infiltration of the Chinese Communist Party into America’s education system, specifically into public grade schools, has sparked outrage from small towns to Capitol Hill.
Media
NEWSWEEK: China’s Influence in U.S. Public Schools: What We Know, What We Don’t
Concerns have been raised that the Chinese state is influencing the American education system by offering millions of dollars in funding to public schools, amid growing fears about its impact…
Media
TOWNHALL: China’s Not the Only Foreign Power Seeking Influence Over American Students
The Chinese Communist Party is known for its efforts, namely through Confucius Institutes, to exert influence over American students studying within the U.S. while also engaging in intelligence gathering and…
Media
THE WASHINGTON FREE BEACON: China Infiltrates Public Schools Near American Military Bases, Experts Testify
CCP ‘pumping propaganda into our children’s heads’…
Media
NEWSNATION: Report: China funneled $17M into ‘Little Red Classrooms’ in US schools
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are launching a probe after a new report revealed public schools across the U.S. have received more than $17 million in funding from the Chinese Communist…
Media
DAILY MAIL: Now China is funding America’s PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Communist nation has channeled $17M into more than 143 K-12 districts – sparking GOP probe
China is funding America’s public schools to the tune of $17 million dollars, it has been revealed, with Republicans now probing the disturbing donations.
Media
FOX NEWS: ‘Alarming evidence’ links China’s Communist Party to American K-12 schools, anti-indoctrination group claims
Parents Defending Education says ‘Little Red Classrooms’ report should concern Americans…
Media
WASHINGTON EXAMINER: Fairfax County wants $35,000 to respond to FOIA on Virginia school’s links to Chinese military
Fairfax County Public Schools is asking for nearly $36,000 to respond to a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request seeking information about an elite public school’s financial relationship with groups…
Media
THE DAILY WIRE: Virginia Demands Schools Cut Ties With Communist China-Linked Groups
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration has demanded that a liberal school system cut ties with allegedly Chinese Communist Party-linked groups, according to a letter obtained by The Daily Wire.
Media
FOX NEWS: Chinese groups funding controversial US school district in effort to divide Americans, expert warns
Fairfax County Public Schools received over $1M in donations from China-affiliated interests, report finds…
Media
Commentary
Foreign Money in America’s Classrooms is a National Security Threat – and Parents Know it
For years, foreign money has flowed into American classrooms with little transparency and even less scrutiny. But now, that’s starting to change.
Commentaries
Trump Makes Right Move Cracking Down on University Foreign Funding
President Donald Trump and his administration are making the right move by targeting the funding that universities receive from foreign nations. For too long, foreign actors have influenced our higher…
Commentaries
What Parents Need to Know About President Trump’s Executive Orders and Schools
Last Update: May 5, 2025 President Trump has signed several executive orders aimed at reshaping federal policies, eliminating DEI initiatives, restoring biological reality and enforcing merit-based practices. These orders have…
Commentaries
Parents Deserve Peace of Mind: Rid Schools of Foreign Influence
Parents face a growing list of concerns in their children’s schools, from critical race theory to gender ideology to antisemitism and invasive surveys.
Commentaries
Who authorized the selling of America’s top high school to China?
As a mother of a then-Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology student, I recall conversations with fellow parents about suspicions they long held about the mysterious Thomas Jefferson…
Commentaries
Polls & Press Releases
Defending Education Poll: Parents Increasingly Skeptical Towards Higher Education Institutions on Hot Button Issues
Washington, D.C. – Defending Education has released new polling of parents with children aged 15–21 revealing parents are at odds with our country’s higher education institutions on several contentious issues that…
Press Releases
Parents Defending Education Poll: Parents Support Girls-Only Spaces in Schools, Oppose Parental Exclusion Policies and Grading for Equity
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Parents Defending Education (PDE) released new polling on key issues facing schools in 2025 with questions on the role of the Department of Education, school choice,…
Press Releases
Testimony of Nicole Neily, President of Parents Defending Education Before the House Committee on Education & the Workforce Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education
“Academic Freedom Under Attack: Loosening the CCP’s Grip on America’s Classrooms” Chairman Bean, Ranking Member Bonamici, and distinguished members of the subcommittee, thank you for inviting me to appear today.
Press Releases
Parents Defending Education Poll: 87% of voters agree that schools should be required to disclose when they accept money from foreign governments
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Parents Defending Education (PDE) released new polling on foreign funding in K-12 schools. The poll was conducted by CRC Research. It sampled 1,600 registered voters between June…
Press Releases
Parents Defending Education Requests Investigation into Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology’s Partnership Fund and Donations from Chinese Government-Linked Entities
March 8, 2023 – Parents Defending Education has sent letters to Governor Glenn Youngkin and Attorney General Jason Miyares requesting an investigation into the relationship between Fairfax County Public Schools,…
Press Releases
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