On Thursday, Texas GOP Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne slammed the Biden administration’s Department of Education for targeting one of Texas’ top school districts with an investigation over allegations of racial and gender discrimination.
Van Duyne tweeted, “The Biden administration’s @usedgov has deemed it necessary to go after one of Texas’ top school districts. I am not going to sit back while this authoritarian administration conducts overreaching investigations in the shadows.”
The Biden administration’s @usedgov has deemed it necessary to go after one of Texas' top school districts.
I am not going to sit back while this authoritarian administration conducts overreaching investigations in the shadows.
Read my letter to the Dept. of Education below⬇️ pic.twitter.com/RMxlqbUAFx
— Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (@RepBethVanDuyne) November 19, 2021
Van Duyne joined Texas GOP senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn, North Carolina GOP Senator Richard Burr and North Carolina GOP Represenative Virginia Foxx to fire off a blistering letter to Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in which they stated:
Based on recent actions by the Biden administration, we fear your department will weaponize federal resources to intimidate parents who disagree with the polices of this administration and voiced their objections overwhelmingly and lawfully though local elections held in May of this year. Furthermore, given Carroll’s ISD achievements in education, we are concerned the Department will conduct an authoritarian-style retaliation against the community.
Van Duyne issued a press release in which she stated:
The Department of Education has decided to launch an investigation into one of our highest performing school districts. Carroll ISD has an exceptional record, boasting a zero percent drop out rate, is one of the largest districts in the state of Texas to earn the top rating of ‘Exemplary’ by the Texas Education Agency and has won the coveted UIL Lone Star Cup for four years running. At a time when students in major urban school districts are suffering from crippling learning loss, the Department of Education should be more concerned about the students who have fallen behind due to Democrat and union forced lockdowns than a thriving district whose parents disagree with this administration.
Parents invested in the education of their children is a reflection of a vibrant community not a terror threat. It is now undeniably clear President Biden’s administration is actively circumventing the will and the rights of parents and the community in our children’s education.
Biden’s Attorney General has already been caught in a lie — testifying under oath that the Department of Justice was not targeting concerned parents, when evidence is clear he has done just that. And now, the Department of Education is attempting to overturn local decisions and undermine and intimidate local elected leaders to instill federal policies at a suburban school district in North Texas.
We cannot allow this administration to operate in the shadows, refusing to answer questions or provide details of their investigations. Recently the Southlake community made their stance on the pressure to enforce CRT policies in schools clear with an over 70% vote in favor of an anti CRT candidate. Voting against Democrats and liberal policies is not illegal and does not warrant a federal investigation, and I stand with parents, students, and local leaders to shine a light on this overreach.
I am conducting my own investigation into this egregious weaponization of federal resources designed to intimidate and punish parents.