Joint Statement on the Misuse of Federal Funds Under Title VI
Middle East Forum and others
September 17, 2014 Background Enacted by Congress to strengthen the nation's security by training future national security professionals and educating the public on international affairs, Title VI provides federal funds to 129 international studies and foreign language centers at universities nationwide. Such centers are obligated by statute to conduct "public outreach" programs for K-12 teachers, educators, and the general public in return for Title VI funds. Today these outreach programs, which have no congressional oversight, often disseminate anti-American and anti-Israel falsehoods. In 2006, Congress mandated a review of Title VI-funded programs by the National Research Council. Their report, issued in 2007, found that Title VI programs had become ineffective in achieving their original goals, and greater oversight by the Department of Education was needed. The programs used taxpayer funding to disseminate biased one-sided views that criticized American foreign policy and national security. During the 2008 reauthorization of the HEA, Congress sought to address these concerns. The statute was amended, adding that "grants should be made . . . on the condition that" descriptions, assurances, or explanations are provided on how the program "will reflect diverse perspective and a wide range of views and generate debate on world regions and international affairs." Current Problems The evidence shows that many centers funded under Title VI still do not serve the basic objectives of the program, namely, to advance American national security and international relations interests. They too often exclude scholars with diverse perspectives while stifling discourse on critical issues. The biased learning environment that results suppresses the academic freedom of students and faculty with different views. At some institutions, students are afraid to disagree with their professors. Particularly troubling is that these government-funded centers also disseminate one-sided views to an audience far wider than on our college campuses. The centers conduct "public outreach" programs as a condition of receiving Title VI funds and present their biased and often inaccurate views to K-12 teachers, educators, and the general public. Teachers, educators, and members of the public are thus being misled by programs that promote a particular political agenda, rather than a balanced and accurate perspective. Rather than serve American national security and foreign policy interests, these programs do the opposite. These problems have persisted despite the 2008 congressional reforms that were intended to curb them. There are more than just a few isolated examples of the problem. In 2014, the AMCHA Initiative issued a report chronicling the public outreach activities of UCLA's Center for Near East Studies (CNES), funded in part by Title VI, from 2010 to 2013. Among its findings:
A proposed solution Systems are needed to ensure accountability and transparency to effectuate the 2008 congressional reforms. We recommend the following two steps as a means of dealing with the problem that Title VI programs have no measure of accountability after receiving taxpayer funding:
Respectfully submitted, ACCURACY IN ACADEMIA AMCHA INITIATIVE AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LAWYERS AND JURISTS ENDOWMENT FOR MIDDLE EAST TRUTH THE LOUIS D. BRANDEIS CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER LAW MIDDLE EAST FORUM SCHOLARS FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST SIMON WIESENTHAL CENTER UNION OF ORTHODOX JEWISH CONGREGATIONS ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA
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Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Joint Statement on the Misuse of Federal Funds Under Title VI
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