The Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) has allocated more than $100 million in K-12 school grants to restorative justice, social emotional learning and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, a parents’ rights group has found.

Parents Defending Education (PDE) analyzed grants awarded by DOJ to school districts over the last four years. Since 2021, the department has distributed 102 grants that were used on the three subjects, spanning 946 school districts, according to the group’s findings.

The funds were awarded through DOJ’s STOP School Violence Program, PDE said on Thursday. The program aims to improve school safety by providing students and school staff members with “the tools they need to recognize, respond quickly to, and prevent acts of violence,” according to DOJ.

The program also notes a desire to strengthen school safety by “implementing solutions that will improve school climate.”

A total of 47 grants, equaling $45,207,178, “broadly” mentioned restorative practices or social emotional learning, the report shows. Meanwhile, 30 grants, representing $32,084,529, included either “project proposals” discussing DEI or “explicitly” explained intentions to “improve outcomes for a specific demographic group,” PDE said.

The report also shows 22 grants featured “project proposals” aimed at hiring consultants focused on “changing school climate,” while 11 were designed for hiring new administrators, such as “a restorative justice facilitator.” The two grant categories totaled $19,881,347 and $10,296,100 respectively, according to PDE.

PDE noted in its report that some grants fell under multiple categories.

Erika Sanzi, director of outreach for PDE, said in a statement schools became “less safe” as a result of the DOJ grants.

“The DOJ claimed that the purpose of the grants was to increase school safety by implementing solutions that will improve school climate — but the opposite happened,” Sanzi said. “Disruptions, chaos and violence increased, and schools became less safe.”

PDE highlighted several specific grants and projects in its report. The Minnesota Department of Education received nearly $2 million from DOJ to create “safe learning environments where practices of anti-racism and anti-oppression are embedded,” according to the parents’ rights group.

A description of the award on DOJ’s website explained the Minnesota Department of Education would provide schools with guidance and training on supporting “LGBTQ inclusion,” as well as preventing discrimination, bullying and harassment.

A collaborative program between Philadelphia’s Temple University and The School District of Philadelphia was also featured in PDE’s report. The program, granted $1,688,668, is aimed at violence prevention through teaching young people, among other things, “community policing,” “anti-bias education” and “restorative practices,” the report says.

DOJ did not respond to a request for comment.

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