Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education Act
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Would require public schools receiving federal funds to give parents the right to access information about foreign government or foreign-entity funding — including curriculum materials, staff compensation, donations, and contracts — upon written request, as a new condition of federal elementary and secondary education funding.
The bill targets foreign influence in K-12 schools, with China specifically cited as a concern, and would create an enforceable disclosure framework backed by the threat of losing federal education funds.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to add a new section granting parents of K-12 students three categories of rights related to foreign influence in their children's schools. First, parents could request and review — free of charge — any curricular or professional development material purchased or obtained with funds from a foreign government or a foreign entity of concern. Second, parents could request written disclosure of how many school personnel are compensated, in whole or in part, with such foreign funds. Third, parents could request written disclosure of any donations, written agreements, or financial transactions between the school or local educational agency and a foreign country or foreign entity of concern, including the dollar amounts and any applicable terms. Schools would have 30 days to respond to written requests.
The bill would not create independent enforcement machinery beyond the existing federal-funding condition. It would not require schools to proactively disclose foreign funding without a parent request, except for a summary notice of parental rights that each school must post on its public website at the start of each school year. The Department of Education would notify state educational agencies annually, and those agencies would in turn notify local educational agencies.
Key provisions
- 1Would give parents the right to review and copy, free of charge, any curricular or professional development material obtained with foreign government or foreign entity of concern funds, within 30 days of a written request.
- 2Would give parents the right to receive a written response disclosing how many school personnel are compensated using funds from a foreign government or foreign entity of concern, within 30 days of a written request.
- 3Would give parents the right to receive written disclosure of any donations, written agreements, and financial transactions between the school or LEA and a foreign country or foreign entity of concern, including amounts and terms.
- 4Would require each school to post a summary notice of these parental rights on its public website at the beginning of each school year, or widely disseminate the notice if the school has no website.
- 5Would require the Department of Education to notify state educational agencies annually about the bill's requirements, and require SEAs to notify LEAs as a condition of receiving federal elementary and secondary education funds.
Who would be affected
Parents of children enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools that receive federal education funds — potentially every public school district in the country. Local educational agencies and individual schools would bear the disclosure and response obligations. State educational agencies and the Department of Education would have annual notification duties. Schools with any ties to foreign governments or foreign entities of concern face the most direct compliance burden.
Why it matters
Parents would gain a formal, federally backed right to scrutinize foreign-funded materials and financial relationships in their children's schools, with a 30-day response deadline. School districts that fail to comply risk losing federal elementary and secondary education funds. The "foreign entity of concern" definition ties to an existing statute that includes entities linked to adversarial nations such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Sec. 2)
Adds new Section 8549D establishing parental rights to disclosure of foreign government and foreign-entity funding, materials, and agreements in K-12 schools as a condition of federal funds.
Agencies directed to act
Funding and costs
Congressional Budget Office estimate
CBO estimates H.R. 1049 would cost less than $500,000 over the 2025–2030 period, with no effect on direct spending, revenues, or the deficit.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1049, the TRACE Act, would have no effect on direct (mandatory) spending or revenues, leaving no change to the deficit over the 2025–2035 scoring window. The only budgetary effect is a minor implementation cost to the Department of Education — less than $500,000 over 2025–2030 — to administer the new requirement that local education agencies make information about foreign government funding available to parents; that spending would be subject to future appropriations. CBO identified no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates in the bill.
How implementation would work
At the start of each school year, the Department of Education notifies state educational agencies of the requirements; SEAs in turn notify local educational agencies as a condition of receiving federal funds. Each school must post a summary notice of parental rights on its public website (or widely disseminate if no website exists). When a parent submits a written request, the school has 30 days to provide copies of materials or a written response with the requested information. Compliance is enforced as a condition of receiving funds under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act — no separate rulemaking or grant program is created.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Official CRS summary
Show the CRS summaryHide the CRS summary
This bill requires each local educational agency (LEA), as a condition of receiving federal elementary and secondary education funds, to ensure that each elementary and secondary school served by the LEA notifies parents of their rights to request and receive information regarding foreign influence (e.g., influence by China) in schools.
These rights include the right to
- review (and make copies of at no cost) any curricular or professional development material used at the school that was obtained using funds received from a foreign government or a foreign entity of concern;
- know, by written response, how many school personnel are compensated using funds received from a foreign government or a foreign entity of concern; and
- know, by written response, information about funding from or agreements (e.g., contracts) with a foreign country or a foreign entity of concern.
Parents must submit a written request for this information.
Each school must post on a publicly accessible website (or otherwise widely disseminate to the public) a summary notice of parental rights under the bill.
The bill requires the Department of Education to notify state educational agencies (SEAs) about the bill's requirements. Each SEA must, as a condition of receiving federal elementary and secondary education funds, notify LEAs about the bill's requirements.
Legislative subjects
Education; Education programs funding; Elementary and secondary education; School administration; State and local government operations; Teaching, teachers, curricula
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-13