Biden admin was 'actively encouraging' states to use COVID money to push CRT, says One Nation president

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Group reveals blue states spending COVID relief money on CRT

Steven Law, president of One Nation, says several blue states used taxpayer money intended for COVID relief to push critical race theory in schools.

The president of One Nation pushed back Friday on the Department of Education's response to his group finding that several blue states used taxpayer money intended for COVID relief to push critical race theory in schools.

"Take a look at the solicitation they put out, the request for proposals. They were actively encouraging race-based programs that they wanted to have states come forward with and the most damning part of it is the Department of Education approved all these plans," Steven Law told "Fox & Friends."

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Law, who served as deputy secretary of labor under President George W. Bush, said the plans for teaching critical race theory have been given the seal of approval of the Department of Education. 

"So what they are saying right now is revisionist history," Law told host Steve Doocy, after the Department of Education labeled his findings as "patently false."

Miguel Cardona speaks after President-Elect Joe Biden announced his nomination for Education Secretary at the Queen theatre on December 23, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)

"The Department is not encouraging the use of American Rescue Plan funds to teach CRT—and any claim to the contrary is patently false," the Department of Education told Fox News Digital. 

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"The Department believes politicians should stay out of the curriculum decisions that are best made at the local level, in engagement with parents, families, and local school communities. 

"American Rescue Plan funds – which have been indispensable to safely re-opening practically 100% of our schools – are helping school communities recover from COVID-19, by providing vital resources to help students make up for lost learning time and to support their mental health," it continued. "As we’ve repeatedly told your outlet, and is on the Department’s website, curriculum decisions are made at the local level."

An even mix of proponents and opponents to teaching Critical Race Theory are in attendance as the Placentia Yorba Linda School Board in Orange County, California, discusses a proposed resolution to ban it from being taught in schools. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, which the Democrats passed in March 2021 without any Republican support, was billed by the Democratic Party as a necessity for reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

However, the law provided over $122 billion for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER), which helped multiple states implement "implicit bias" and "anti-racism" training, among other programs, according to research from One Nation shared with and verified by Fox News Digital.

In February 2021, before the legislation passed, the White House told FOX Business that ESSER funding would provide schools "with the resources they need to safely reopen and fully serve their students."

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Law's organization found instances of the government using $46 billion to promote liberal curricula and critical race theory in schools. 

"The Democrats and the president on down said we absolutely had to pass the so-called American Rescue Plan, we are going to open schools, we’re going to fix our economy. And, you don’t have to scratch very far below the surface to not only find a lot of waste but a lot of politics," he said.