Executive Summary
Emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) reveal planning and coordinating communications between Biden Administration officials and handpicked outside groups that were invited to be part of the process of establishing a “National Parents and Families Engagement Council.”
On July 7, 2022, [Parents] Defending Education, along with America First Legal Foundation (AFL) and Fight for Schools and Families, sued Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education, the United States Department of Education, and the “National Parents and Families Engagement Council” alleging violation of the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Biden Administration later disbanded the Council following the lawsuit.
In order to obtain the documents requested through a FOIA, [Parents] Defending Education had to file a lawsuit on March 20, 2025, against the U.S. Department of Education. The following are documents revealing communications related to the disbanded Council.
Key Takeaways
- These emails and documents reveal how The Department of Education during the Biden Administration went about creating an illegal “Engagement Council” and which groups were invited to participate.
- Notable groups invited to either give feedback or be involved on The Council include the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), National Action Network, the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and PFLAG National, and UNIDOS US.
- Several of the groups involved with The Council have received over $3.5M from both the AFT and National Education Association (NEA).
- The Department of Education invited the organization American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee to be part of the Engagement Council. In 2024, the ADC endorsed a “March on Washington for Gaza” event that was organized by the ANSWER Coalition, American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
- An invitee to The Council, United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN), is fiscally sponsored by Community Organizing and Family Issues which has received roughly $2M in funding since 2021 from nonprofits such as the New Venture Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
- Even though it was called the “National Parents and Families Engagement Council,” not a single right-of-center or conservative parent group was invited to join.
National Parents and Families Engagement Council
On March 18, 2022, an email sent to select groups titled “Embargoed Document Around Parent and Family Engagement at ED” included information about the “National Parents and Families Engagement Council (the Council)” including an overview of the the Council and its objectives.
On June 13, 2022, ED sent out an email announcing the launch of the National Parents and Families Engagement Council set for June 14, 2022. The email outlines how member organizations are to select representatives to The Council. The email concludes by stating that it is “not a Federal Advisory Committee and therefore, does not have access to information and advice on a broad range of issues affecting federal policies and programs.”
One of the organizations invited to give feedback and participate on The Council responded to ED stating they had issues with the language not being “inclusive” enough. “We have one comment re: the attachment. It mentions parents several times with no mention of broader caregivers. Could you expand the language to say parent or other adult responsible for the child – or parent or caregiver – or just keep it broad to talk about families?”
Groups Involved with the Council
Below are emails from ED to groups invited to supply feedback and to be involved with the National Parents and Families Engagement Council.
On March 25, 2022, the American Federation of Teachers responded to an invite to participating on The Council by sharing additional “parent groups” that “be included in your conversations.” Of those groups listed by the AFT, since 2022 the teachers union has given Red Wine and Blue $1,145,000 and Parents Together $450,000 in funding.
Another group invited to participate on The Council was United Parent Leaders Action Network (UPLAN), which is fiscally sponsored by Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI). COFI has received roughly $2M in funding since 2021 from nonprofits such as the New Venture Fund, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
