Rep. Summer Lee Slams Republican Hearing Targeting Diverse Students, Educators, and Progressive School Districts

VIDEO

WASHINGTON. D.C. - JUNE 10, 2026 - Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12) joined colleagues, educators, parents, advocates, and human rights organizations for a press conference demanding an end to the Trump administration and Republicans' attacks on trans children and Black and brown students. Immediately following the press conference, Rep. Lee forcefully condemned those attacks during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing targeting diverse school districts with inclusive policies.

Before the hearing, Rep. Lee joined Congresswoman Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Congressman Mark Takano (CA-39), Chicago Public School educators, parents, students, and human rights organizations to call out Republicans' escalating attacks on school districts that prioritize all children's safety, care, and success. Speakers highlighted how the targeting of Chicago Public Schools, and other school districts that prioritize the well-being of students regardless of their race, gender, socioeconomic status, or disability status, is part of the Trump administration and Republicans' broader playbook to weaken dissent.

At the press conference, Rep. Lee and advocates condemned Republicans for using Congressional time and resources to persecute those fighting against Trump's white Christian nationalist agenda, from the mayors of welcoming cities to the governors of Democratic states, to the leaders of inclusive school districts striving for equity.

Following the press conference, Rep. Lee participated in the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled "Breaking Trust: Attacks on Parental Rights, Inappropriate Content, and Legal Abuses in America's Schools," where she called out Republicans for using the committee's role to intimidate school leaders and attack school districts with diverse student bodies.

As Chicago was one of the schools districts republicans' targeted, during the hearing, Rep. Lee entered into the record a letter from the Chicago delegation expressing their concern about "weaponizing oversight and federal education funding to target diverse student bodies and attack the school districts and educators seeking to effectively meet their needs."

"This hearing is trying to legitimize a dangerous idea of what equitable and inclusive education looks like," Rep. Lee said during the hearing. "Conservatives want us to cede the definition of equity so they can weaponize it against policies that simply give kids a fair shot. Our country established equity policies like IDEA to give children with disabilities an equal education, policies like Title IX to end unequal treatment based on sex, and forced court rulings on desegregation so Black children could attend the same schools and have the same quality of education as white children."

Rep. Lee condemned Republican efforts to pressure educators and school leaders into abandoning equity and inclusion policies that help ensure every child can access a quality education.

"This administration's Department of Education already tried to ban diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. It didn't work. They lost the case," Rep. Lee said. "So now, Republicans are forcing school superintendents before this committee to scare them into compliance-compliance with discriminatory policies and a chilled educational environment that caters to the demands of a vocal minority."

Rep. Lee made clear that the diversity of America's public schools is not a political agenda, but a reality. Citing witness testimony, she noted that students of color make up more than half of public-school students, one in four high school students identify as LGBTQI+, one in ten students are English learners, and 15% of students receive special education services.

Rep. Lee questioned Johnathan Smith, Managing Director of Education & Federal Strategic Advocacy at the National Center for Youth Law and a former senior official in the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division, on whether conservative "parents' rights" movements are a reaction to the increasing diversity of public schools and what happens when students' educational foundation is undermined by discriminatory policies and politicized attacks that drain school budgets.

"Equity and inclusion policies are fundamental to protecting students' right to a quality education," Rep. Lee said. "An administration that relies on fear mongering, and that dismantles the very federal agency responsible for educational equity, threatens protections for those least able to defend themselves. And let's be clear, reserving a quality education for those who already have every advantage isn't just a byproduct of authoritarianism, it's a prerequisite for it."

Rep. Lee concluded: "But we will fight back, because our kids deserve better than this. And we can and will give them better than this."

Congresswoman Lee's leadership today builds on her longstanding work to protect public education, civil rights, and safe, inclusive learning environments for every student. As a member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, Rep. Lee has denounced Trump's efforts to dismantle the Department of Education, applauded federal court action halting the administration's attempt to dismantle the agency, and joined colleagues in reintroducing the Counseling Not Criminalization in Schools Act, legislation to invest in counselors, social workers, nurses, and other trained professionals instead of over-policing students. Rep. Lee has also fought to expand access to high-quality education, including by highlighting her push to expand Head Start and introducing legislation to help schools build vibrant outdoor learning spaces.

To watch Rep. Lee's full remarks and questioning during the hearing, click here.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Judiciary and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, shehas delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.7 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania's infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 4,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.