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Parents Defending Education founder calls Biden admin's spending spree on DEI in schools a 'slap in the face'

Parents Defending Education founder Nicki Neily called the Biden administration's decision to spend over $1 billion on diversity, equity and inclusion [DEI] programming and training in America's schools "heartbreaking" and a disservice to America's students.

"We're at a time when 40% of American students can't read, and this is how the Biden-Harris administration chose to fritter away hard-earned American taxpayer dollars. It's really a slap in the face," Neily told "Fox & Friends First" on Friday.

Researchers at Parents Defending Education looked through nearly four years of grants awarded by the Biden administration from 2021 to present and found that the Biden administration spent hundreds of millions of dollars on diversity, equity and inclusion grants for students and schools.

The U.S. Department of Education spent at least $1 billion on grants advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in hiring, programming and mental health training in America's schools since 2021, according to a new report. (Getty Images)

Neily argued that DEI is harmful because it "pits people against each other" and labels people as either "oppressed" or "oppressors."

Data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates nearly one-third of U.S. public schoolchildren were behind grade level at the end of the 2023-2024 school year. (iStock)

"These programs need to be completely eradicated. And I think over the next four years we're going to have a major clean-up effort," she predicted.

Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arrives on Capitol Hill on Dec. 5, 2024 in Washington, D.C.; Vivek Ramaswamy, chairman and co-founder of Strive Asset Management, arrives to meet with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024.  (Left: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Right: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"This is worse than just wasteful," Ramaswamy said on X.