Private School Accreditation Organization Benefits from Iranian Money
As the war against the Islamic Republic of Iran rages in the Persian Gulf, there’s another battle against the regime’s influence being fought a bit closer to home. The Iranian missiles and drones that are raining down on countries in the Middle East cannot yet reach our shores. However, there is no Iron Dome preventing Iranian money from landing in U.S. K-12 classrooms. Iran is the third-largest shareholder in an international multilateral bank that provides financial support to a network of U.S.-based private K-12 Islamic schools.
Iran’s influence operation is substantial. In October 2023, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA) published a brief on Iranian influence operations in the United States, where they identified the Alavi Foundation, a New York-based not-for-profit that, according to JINSA, funds “academic collaborations to spread Iranian talking points.” The organization claims to have given out $50 million since its founding in the 1970s. The George Washington University Program on Extremism published a report in 2024 detailing a number of other efforts, as well.
But the problem is much broader than Iran’s attempts to sway school children to hold a favorable opinion of its regime. Foreign funding has been buying influence and control over America’s education system for years. And it isn’t contained within the ivory tower of higher education. In chronically underfunded American K-12 schools, administrators may be tempted to take what money they can, wherever they can get it. Qatar Foundation International, for example, is funding multiple initiatives in the K-12 space, including teacher training, textbooks, and student trips to Qatar.
Another vector of influence is through our often-overlooked private schools. There is a Chinese-connected for-profit company purchasing private K-12 schools in multiple states. There is also a member-driven organization that provides accreditation, sets academic standards, and hosts teacher professional development seminars for Islamic K-12 schools in the United States and internationally, the Council on Islamic Schools in North America (CISNA).
Accreditation organizations like CISNA set academic standards for schools and provide teachers and administrators with professional development training, all of which directly influences what curricula are used and which books are read.
To better understand the concern, follow the money. CISNA receives support from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), based in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. As mentioned above, Iran is the IsDB’s third-largest shareholder, accounting for approximately 7 percent of the Bank’s subscribed capital.
Simply put, the nation’s largest Islamic K-12 school-accrediting organization receives funds from an Iranian-supported bank. The CISNA network has dozens of members and accredited schools in more than half of the states of our union. And the IsDB has made it a priority to expand CISNA’s influence.
The American educational system is, rightfully, under increasing scrutiny by elected officials, with specific concerns arising over foreign funding and influence. Much of that scrutiny has been limited to Ivy League universities and public-school districts, with private schools for younger kids flying under the radar.
To be fair, there are limitations on what lawmakers can do to address the private school arena — there’s a reason they are called private. But limitations do not equal incapacity. Multiple states offer families access to taxpayer funds as part of school choice policies. This allows students opportunities to attend schools that would otherwise be financially out of reach. Many private schools and their accrediting organizations operate as 501(c)3 nonprofit organizations. The Treasury Department and the IRS should continuously evaluate if transactions from the bank are violating U.S. sanctions law and if institutions receiving monetary support from state sponsors of terrorism should be allowed to operate in the U.S. non-profit sector.
