Transparency
Responsibility
Accountability
in Education
Investigating and exposing radical influence and ideological capture in K–12 education
When children leave school to join political protests, where does student free speech end and adult-organized activism begin? TRACE examines the people and organizations behind school walkouts, and the role they play in mobilizing minors for political causes.
What TRACE Does
TRACE Initiative investigates the people, organizations, networks, funding relationships, and ideological movements influencing K–12 education.
Using public records, open-source intelligence, network analysis, and documented evidence, we identify how outside influence enters educational institutions, map the relationships behind it, and provide families, educators, policymakers, and community organizations with evidence they can act on.
Our Impact
The reach of TRACE continues to grow as more communities, organizations, and decision-makers seek evidence-based research and analysis
TRACE investigations examine the people, organizations, networks, and ideologies shaping K–12 education.
Our analysis follows the evidence—connecting public records, open-source intelligence, funding, affiliations, and institutional relationships to reveal the larger networks and patterns behind what is happening in schools.
Investigations and Analysis
Who Really Organized Colorado's “Student-Led” ICE Walkout Which Turned Violent?
The September 4 protest was portrayed as a youth-organized movement. Evidence shows adult activists were promoting and offering to help organize weeks before students returned to school
Rutgers, “Nonviolence,” and the Activist Network Behind the Archive
How a publicly funded university became connected to an activist ecosystem tied to controversial Gaza advocacy networks and why the institutional relationships deserve scrutiny.
“Organizing for Life”: The DSA’s Quiet Expansion Into America’s High Schools
The Next Wave in Classroom Radicalization
The Alavi Foundation wasn't dismantled. It was Laundered
The Biden administration's final-days settlement didn't end Iran's American financial network. It handed it a clean legal slate and half a billion dollars.
The TRACE Act aims to expose foreign funding and influence shaping America’s schools and educational institutions.
New TRACE report reveals how “student clubs” blurred the line between faith, politics, and public education
The Open Net: Why Saudi Arabia Keeps Scoring in American Education
While everyone is piling onto Qatar, Saudi Arabia is already skating up ice, and the U.S. keeps leaving its goal unguarded.
TRACE partners with organizations and stakeholders seeking evidence-based investigative research, network analysis, and actionable intelligence related to K–12 education.