Fox News reported that the administration is withholding federal funding meant for schools through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Their target? Schools that feature hunting and archery programs for young people.
The Department of Education (DOE), in a blatantly misguided act, determined that funding could be withdrawn under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) implemented in 2022. Thus, the DOE issued guidance that made its rounds among hunting groups warning of the withholding of funds for schools with these positive programs.
Tommy Floyd, president of the National Archery in the Schools Program, called it a “negative” for the nation’s youth. Engaging students in many communities, he explained, is through “a shooting sport, and the skills from shooting sports that help young people grow to be responsible adults.”
Floyd noted that fish and wildlife agencies are forced to scrounge for every bit of funding. To have resources cut off by Washington for any shooting sports is a detriment to enjoying the outdoors.
His organization affects 1.3 million students from 49 states and is featured in almost 9,000 schools.
Two senators, John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC), suggested that government officials are merely “misinterpreting” the ESEA provisions as applied to public schools.
The pair, in a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, asserted that the provisions were meant to keep funding from schools training resource officers since that was funded through a separate measure.
“The Department mistakenly believes that the BSCA precludes funding these enrichment programs,” the letter stated. “Such an interpretation contradicts congressional intent and the text of the BSCA.” Clearly the senators intended to give administration officials the benefit of a doubt.
That stance drew skepticism from Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms Chairman Alan Gottlieb. While he acknowledged the attempt at diplomacy by the two lawmakers, he said the facts do not lead an observer to believe withholding funds from these schools is an “innocent mistake.”
Gottlieb declared that it is just another volley in the anti-gun crusade against anything that could be deemed a “positive approach to firearms.” He lauded the programs targeting elementary and secondary schools where the youth are taught “genuine firearms safety” and tragedies are even prevented.
“We’re joining our friends at the National Shooting Sports Foundation and Safari Club International in raising alarms because this appears to be just one more attack on the Second Amendment.”
Gottlieb further noted that this move by Washington is aimed to deprive young people “of opportunities to learn valuable life skills.”
The BSCA sailed through both the House and Senate last year before being signed into law by President Joe Biden. It followed mass shootings at a New York grocery store and a school in Uvalde, Texas. The Department of Education proclaimed it promotes “safer, more inclusive and positive” school environments.
Specific wording in an amendment attached to the bill prohibited ESEA funding from assisting an individual with a dangerous weapon or supporting “training in the use of a dangerous weapon.”
This, of course, is now being used to withhold funding from schools with these essential programs. Supporters believe that, despite the federal government’s objections, school hunting and archery programs are well within the parameters of activities meant to enhance student health and safety that the ESEA funds.
Is it possible that the Department of Education made an innocent mistake? Certainly. But is it likely? No. The current trend in Washington is to treat every firearm as evil and the Second Amendment as something to be eradicated.
Targeting responsible safety training for students is just another rung on that ladder.
