Dear Colleagues:

President Joe Biden’s administration has big plans—to use your money. Calling everything “infrastructure,” including child care, paid family leave, and school meals, the administration is ready to raise taxes and invest in some of the most regressive, wasteful federal programs operating in Washington today, explain Rachel Greszler and Lindsey Burke in National Interest this week.

Rachel and Lindsey write, “The main problem with these programs isn’t their irrelevance to infrastructure or even their exorbitant expense. It’s that they won’t achieve their intended goals. Rather than strengthen families, these programs will only undermine them, leaving them with fewer opportunities and less control over their circumstances.”

Elevator pitch: “Government subsidies won’t solve the challenge of child care for families, but they could further restrict families’ choices by driving up the cost of care and limiting child care options,” say Rachel and Lindsey. Lawmakers should “expand the use of 529 savings plans and let families use existing childcare subsidies—including Head Start funds—at a child care or preschool provider of their own choosing.”

More on Biden’s plan to use your money. Join Lindsey Burke and Thomas Spoehr, Director of Heritage's Center for National Defense, on May 26th at noon for a 30-minute "Policy Pulse" chat on the Biden budget and its implications for defense and education. You can RSVP for the virtual event here.

A Twelve Month Education Spending Spree. The Department of Education has received $281 billion emergency relief dollars since March of last year. Yet the sum of the Biden Administration's latest proposals-- the 2022 Budget Request and infrastructure proposal (Part I)--combined with the emergency relief packages would cost American taxpayers haf a trillion in new education spending.

In the Daily Signal, Jude Schwalbach noted how when combined, spending proposals will saddle future taxpayers with debt. "To cover the astounding tab for the recent spending spree, Congress would need to devote the revenue from the average taxes paid by more than 1.23 million Americans over the course of their entire lives," he wrote.

What Else We’re Working On

Don’t let schools discriminate based on race. Jonathan Butcher and Mike Gonzalez, Heritage’s senior fellow in the Allison Center for Foreign Policy and the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum fellow, testified this week before the Louisiana Legislature’s House Education Committee alongside two-time Olympian Claston Bernard. Jonathan and the other panelists argued that lawmakers should not prohibit educators from teaching students the ideas of Critical Theory, a philosophy that discriminates against people based on skin color, but teachers and state officials should not be allowed to teach children to apply Critical Theory.

Applying Critical Theory would mean that teachers would adjust homework assignments, for example, based on a child’s race, not his or her performance in class. A new math curriculum that California educators designed suggests just such an instructional approach. Likewise, applying Critical Theory would mean teaching students that America is systemically racist, even though federal law condemns racism. The New Orleans Parish public school system adopted a resolution last summer that says America is systemically racist.

You can listen to the testimonies from Jonathan, Mike, and Claston here.

Preserving America’s promise of freedom and possibility for everyone, no matter their skin color. Mike and Jonathan released a Backgrounder last week explaining that Critical Race Theory (CRT) upends civil rights and equal protection under the law by treating people differently, according to their race or ethnicity. Today, the Biden Administration’s support of CRT in schools leaves it up to the states to stop this radical ideology from corrupting school curricula.

Mike and Jonathan write, “CRT seeks to disrupt freedom under the law, and its applications violate civil rights by treating people according to race. State and local officials can and should design and promote instructional content that celebrates pluralism. The American responsibility is to contribute to, and preserve, civil society—for today and for the next generation.” You can also read their piece in the Daily Signal on this new paper here.

Opportunities for more students in the Sunshine State. Florida policymakers sent a proposal to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk that expands the K-12 learning options for children in the state. The proposal combines some of the state’s existing private school scholarship programs and expands student eligibility for the scholarships. The state’s education savings accounts for children with special needs (Gardiner Scholarships) would be merged with a private school scholarship option (McKay Scholarships). Student eligibility for scholarships for children from low-income households would increase, as well.

In 2013, Lindsey and Jonathan wrote about how state lawmakers could do exactly this—combine private school scholarships and education savings accounts to create a menu of options from which parents and students can choose. You can read their paper here.

Creating hope for Nebraska children. Jason Bedrick from Ed Choice and Lindsey wrote in in the Daily Signal this week that Nebraska lawmakers have the chance to help K-12 students by offering children and families the chance to choose how and where they learn. Parent choices in education are on the move this year, Jason and Lindsey explain, and “so far this year, nine states have passed four new choice policies and expanded 10 existing ones. Nearly a dozen other states are considering similar legislation.” As Nebraska lawmakers recently discussed the need to close the achievement gap, lawmakers should consider the same proposals that are bringing new opportunities to children around the U.S.

Warmly,

Jonathan Butcher

Will Skillman Fellow in Education

Center for Education Policy

Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity

The Heritage Foundation