In September 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis removed four private schools from the state's school voucher program, citing their "direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party." The move surprised school choice advocates in a state long considered a leader in education freedom. The schools, operated by Spring Education Group, are owned by Primavera Capital, a Hong Kong-based private equity firm.
Spring Education Group runs more than 200 schools across 19 US states, including prestigious brands like Stratford School, LePort Montessori, and BASIS Independent Schools. The four Florida schools, banned from receiving voucher funds, denied any political ties in a statement to local media: "Our schools are locally run, abide by local, state, and federal laws, and do not have ties to any government or political party."
Conservative Alarm Over Chinese Ownership
The controversy gained national traction when the New York Post reported that BASIS Independent Schools in New York had been sold to Spring Education Group in 2019. The outlet noted that Primavera's chairman and CEO, Fred Zuliu Hu, had previously been identified as a senior member of the Chinese Communist Party. Primavera disputes that Hu is currently a party member.
In February 2024, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas wrote to then-Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressing concern about Tutor.com, another Primavera-linked company that provides tutoring to US military families. Cotton argued that the arrangement risked exposing service members' personal data to the Chinese government. His letter was amplified by conservative groups like Parents Defending Education and Freedom in Education, which accused Tutor.com of facilitating "infiltration of Chinese spyware" in Georgia schools.
By December 2025, the Washington Free Beacon reported that it remained unclear whether Primavera had divested from Tutor.com. The same outlet warned that Spring Education Group's expansion into US K-12 schools coincided with what it described as growing openness to "far left socialist economic ideology" among American youth, citing the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
State Voucher Programs Under Scrutiny
Texas Scorecard, another right-wing outlet, highlighted Primavera's ownership of 13 schools in Texas as the state launched a $1 billion school voucher program. In North Carolina, two of Spring Education Group's eight schools participate in the state's voucher system, while six preschool-only programs are ineligible.
The controversy underscores a broader tension: as US states expand school choice programs, foreign investment in private education raises questions about oversight and national security. For Asian investors like Primavera, the American school voucher market represents a lucrative opportunity—but one increasingly entangled in geopolitical anxieties.
This dynamic mirrors other flashpoints in US-China relations, such as debates over Chinese AI firms using Singapore as a gateway or concerns about Chinese satellite data aiding Iran's military capabilities. The school voucher gold rush, however, places the spotlight on a less visible but equally contested frontier: America's classrooms.
