H.R. 1049 — Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education Act

This section provides the short title of the Act as the “Transparency in Reporting of Adversarial Contributions to Education Act” or the “TRACE Act.”

This section establishes a new Elementary and Secondary Education Act requirement that, as a condition of receiving federal education funds, local educational agencies ensure each elementary and secondary school provides parents with specified rights to review and copy, at no cost, curricular and professional development materials purchased or otherwise obtained using funds from a foreign country or a foreign entity of concern at least every 4 weeks and not later than 30 days after a written request; to receive, within 30 days of a written request, the number of school personnel compensated in whole or in part with such funds; and to receive, within 30 days of a written request, information about any donation, written agreement, or financial transaction involving a foreign country or a foreign entity of concern. It requires the disclosed information to include the name of the foreign country or foreign entity of concern and, if funds were received, the amount and any applicable terms or conditions. It also requires each school to post, at the beginning of each school year, a public notice of these parental rights on a publicly accessible website or, if the school has no website, to widely disseminate the notice, and directs the Secretary and State educational agencies to notify school districts of these requirements at the beginning of each school year. The section defines “foreign entity of concern” by cross-reference to 42 U.S.C. 19221(a).