CSC Leaders Express Concern for the Department of Education Withholding Funds for Schools With Shooting Sports Activities

WASHINGTON - Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (CSC) leaders Reps. Bruce Westerman (AR-04), Jimmy Panetta (CA-19), Garret Graves (LA-06), and Jared Golden (ME-02) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona expressing concern with how the Department of Education is implementing language within the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) to withhold funds from schools with shooting sports activities in their curriculum.

Together, the members requested that the Department revisit the legislative intent of the BSCA and reissue guidance before millions of students are unintentionally impacted and before these important programs are delayed or canceled for the school year.

In part, the members wrote:

"Unfortunately, by misinterpreting the legislative intent of the BSCA, the Department will soon negatively impact millions of students across the country. These programs are popular among teachers and school personnel because success in archery, hunting, target shooting, and outdoor classes can be achieved by students of all genders, abilities, and backgrounds. Further, according to teachers engaged with these programs, student participation has been correlated with improvements in academic performance, behavior, and school attendance. In the case of school-sponsored archery programs, such as the National Archery in the Schools Programs, there are more than 1.3 million students in nearly 9,000 schools across 49 states that participate each academic year. 

"We also point out that this misinterpretation will undermine opportunities to teach hunter education courses that have been credited with reducing fatalities and injuries in hunting by more than 80 percent since 1959. These programs provide unique opportunities for students to build camaraderie, learn responsibility, improve mental health, and develop important life skills, all while being introduced with the safe, responsible, and legal handling of a firearm or archery equipment."

Background: 

On July 31st, the U.S. Department of Education confirmed to Fox News that through misinterpretation of language in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, schools with hunting and archery programs will not receive funding previously earmarked under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. The misinterpretation of the legislative intent of the BSCA will negatively impact millions of students across the country who participate in archery programs, hunter education classes, wilderness and outdoor classes, and school-sponsored target shooting teams. The misinterpretation will also undermine opportunities for hunter education courses that have been accredited with reducing fatalities and injuries related to hunting by over 80% since 1959.

Click here to read the full letter.

Click here to view the full bill text of H.R. 5110, the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act.