Overview
- The House approved Rep. Dave Joyce’s CLASS Act on a 242–176 vote, sending the measure to the Senate for consideration.
- The bill bars public K-12 schools from accepting money from or contracting with the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, or their agents, and it requires disclosure of foreign funds or contracts to the Education Department within 30 days.
- House leaders also set the TRACE Act and the PROTECT Our Kids Act for floor action, proposals that would expand parental access to foreign-funded materials and cut off federal funds to schools receiving Chinese government support.
- Republican backers frame the measures as protecting national security and parental rights by keeping foreign propaganda out of classrooms.
- Democrats warn the requirements are unnecessary and burdensome, noting prior efforts stalled even after a 2019 Senate probe found Confucius Classroom funding came with conditions that could constrain academic freedom.