Bipartisan House, Senate REJECT Biden's ban on school hunting, archery programs

Late Tuesday evening the House of Representatives, in a nearly unanimous vote, approved legislation that strikes down the Biden administration’s decision to block federal funding from school programs offering shooting courses.

The House voted 424-1 in favor of the Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act, according to Fox News. 216 Republicans and 208 Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while just one lawmaker, Texas Democrat Veronica Escobar, voted against it. Shortly after the House passed the bill, the Senate passed it unanimously.

"Hunters and fishers are the best conservationists," Rep Mark Green, who introduced the bill on August 1, told Fox News. "Hunting, whether it be with a firearm or bow, is one of the most effective ways to control wildlife populations, protect our beautiful lands, and connect with nature. My Protecting Hunting Heritage and Education Act is critical for our children."

Green added in a separate statement that students should be encouraged to "participate in enriching athletic activities that foster an appreciation for nature and the ability to focus on a goal."

He estimates that around 50,000 students in his state alone, Tennessee, are impacted by the Biden administration’s decision.

The HR 5110 amends Section 8526(7) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which currently states that funds are prohibited for use "for the provision to any person of a dangerous weapon … or training in the use of a dangerous weapon." The bill amends this to add, "except that this paragraph shall not apply to the use of funds under this Act for activities carried out under programs authorized by this Act that are otherwise permissible under such programs and that provide students with educational instruction or educational enrichment activities, such as archery, hunting, other shooting sports, or culinary arts” before the period at the end."

The bill came after guidance shared by the Education Department to hunting education groups was revealed, stating that hunting and archery programs in schools would be stripped of federal programming under the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which they interpreted to mean that such programs could no longer receive taxpayer funds.

Senior agency official Sarah Martinez wrote in the guidance, obtained by Fox News, that archery, hunter education and wilderness safety courses use weapons that are "technically dangerous weapons" and therefore "may not be funded under" the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).

Advocates for these programs said that many schools had already removed the courses from curriculums following the federal guidance.

"The Department of Education and Secretary Cardona are blatantly misconstruing the law to withhold funding from schools that choose to teach beneficial courses like hunter safety and archery," National Shooting Sports Foundation's senior vice president Lawrence Keane told Fox News in July. 

"Congress must hold Secretary Cardona and the department accountable for violating the letter and spirit of the law to unilaterally deny America’s students access to these valuable programs as part of the Administration’s continued attacks on the Second Amendment."

The Department of Education doubled down on its interpretation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, saying that it would reverse course only if legislation was passed amending the act to allow such funding.

The act, passed in June 2022 in response to the Uvalde, Texas school shooting, revised the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to prohibit funding of weapons.

Sponsors of the Safer Communities Act said the provision was included to prevent education funding from going toward school resource officer training.

"The Biden administration’s misinterpretation of these provisions has jeopardized educational enrichment programs like hunting and archery, which play a critical role in our next generation’s development and well-being," Senator John Cornyn, who sponsored the Safer Communities Act, said Tuesday after the House vote. "This legislation would ensure these programs remain available in schools across the nation, and I urge the Senate to pass it as soon as possible."