(The Center Square) – Top Republicans in the U.S. House are pursuing an investigation into reports that federal tax dollars designated for COVID-related learning loss were spent to promote “equity warriors,” critical race theory programming and more at local schools.
The lawmakers point to billions of dollars spent across multiple pieces of legislation to help local schools deal with the pandemic, including $122 billion in the American Rescue Plan, $54.3 billion in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act as well as $13.2 billion in the CARES Act for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief fund (ESSER).
Now, House Committee on Oversight and Reform Ranking Member Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and Committee on Education and Labor Ranking Member Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., are leading a group of Republicans in an investigation into how those funds were spent. They sent a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona as well as multiple state leaders addressing how “some states are spending taxpayer dollars to push progressive left causes.”
“For example, California used ESSER funds for training in ‘environmental literacy,’ ‘ethnic studies,’ and ‘LGBTQ+ cultural competency,’” the letter said. “New York used part of the $9 billion it received to provide staff development on ‘culturally responsive sustaining instruction’ and ‘privilege’ and to recognize ‘equity warriors.’ Illinois received $5.1 billion, which it partially used to emphasize ‘equity and diversity’ and make ‘equity driven investments.’ At least ten other state plans included proposals to use the ESSER funds to implement racially biased curriculum and programs based on Critical Race Theory.”
The investigation comes amid new data from the Department of Education showing that during the pandemic, national test scores declined the most in decades and particularly affected minority students.
The DOE report showed the average score for 9-year-old students dropped 7 points in math and 5 points in reading from 2020 to 2022, erasing decades of improvement in those areas.
Notably, the report found that in math, “the 13-point score decrease among Black students compared to the 5-point decrease among White students resulted in a widening of the White−Black score gap from 25 points in 2020 to 33 points in 2022.”
Now, the Republican lawmakers want to know if the billions of taxpayer dollars were put to good use.
“Based on recent reports, the Department of Education is allowing Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act and related COVID relief funds to pay for racially biased and other progressive leftist programs,” the letter said. “Specifically, Congress created the fund to enable schools to safely reopen and address learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Those taxpayer dollars, however, are being used to indoctrinate children in core tenets of leftist ideology.”
Lawmakers called the pandemic shutdown-related learning loss a “global disaster.”
“Overwhelmingly, school shutdowns occurred in states and localities led by Democrats who chose to keep schools closed much longer than was necessary, often at the behest of teachers unions. Instead of using ESSER funds to address these dramatic learning losses, some states are spending taxpayer dollars to push progressive left causes,” the letter said. “New York used part of the $9 billion it received to provide staff development on ‘culturally responsive sustaining instruction’ and ‘privilege’ and to recognize ‘equity warriors.’ At least ten other state plans included proposals to use the ESSER funds to implement racially biased curriculum and programs based on Critical Race Theory.”
‘environmental literacy,’ ‘ethnic studies,’ and ‘LGBTQ+ cultural competency,’”
Your hard earned tax dollars at work.
Exactly !
And we wonder why most kids graduate high school (AND college) dumber than tree stumps.
But they’re experts in “equity” and “CRT”.
AND THIS IS why we are in such debt. THE govt wastes SO MUCH of our tax paying money…
These people in the DC Swamp just never seem to learn. Federal money (taxpayers’ money) given to these organization (both liberal and conservative) is almost always ill spent. It ends up funding specious programs, supporting outlandish endeavors, or lining the pocket of management. All wrong. Let them work with their own money, own funds. And SWAMP SCUM in DC, wake up. This is not new. Cease and desist with these handouts.
THAT IS because they are NEVER HELD To account, for their willful criminal DEFRAUDING OF we the tax payer.
I used to think Democrats were polarizing towards Marxism. Now I think they are simply CRIMINALS. It’s strictly business—
The mafia’s of the world hold NO CANDLES to what this govt does.
Do these democrats have no shame, no guilt and no conscience? They have been told repeatedly by parents and by conservative law makers to stop the CRT teachings in schools and at every opportunity they steal money from other programs to use to continue their liberal indoctrination of our school children. What is it going to take to stop their socialist indoctrination of our kids? The answer is to vote as many of them out of office in the midterms as is possible and vote in some reps with a good conscience to stop this madness!?!?
WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE TO SAVE OUR CHILDREN FROM SOCIALIST INDOCTRINATION!!!
It’s not only the socialist indoctrination in schools that are brainwashing our children, it’s also the CRT **** that they cram our kids minds with.
So there was slavery in this country 170 years ago, so what? There’s no citizens in this country alive today that was ever a slave, or owned slaves. The taxpayers have paid untold billions of dollars to the minorities to help them better themselves and not be a drain on society. There are any number of opportunities open to them, but sadly, far too many of them seem to like just holding their hand out, generation after generation, for the freebies offered to them by our government, instead of working. And of course in their minds it’s all the whites fault because we are all racists trying to keep them as slaves. I have to wonder if the liberal censors will let this post get through since I had some negative things to say about minorities.
I can’t believe that the band of idiots of our government is coddling this trash. We need to bring tar and feather back.
No they don’t…
You have to fire them, just as we do the FBI, it is the only way to eliminate the rot!
AND ONCE fired, never again let them WORK IN GOVT positions. ANYWHERE, not even at the county level.
This is why you don’t give the communist teaching your children money. They will spend it on destroying this nation, instead of spending it on what it was intended for.
Using my tax dollars to teach crt is a misappropriation of tax dollars a crime. Maybe even fraud ????