When the National School Board Association's (NSBA) sent a letter to President Joe Biden last week to request for federal law enforcement protection to help them deal with what they claimed as threats from anti-CRT parents, it appeared to have a united front. But now, two state school board associations have spoken out against the NSBA's stance on dealing with those who oppose critical race theory and mask mandates in K-12 schools.
According to Breitbart, the Louisiana and Virginia School Board Associations have released statements that say neither of these organizations were consulted about the intention of the NSBA to address a letter to President Biden himself, specifically one that called anti-CRT parents "domestic terrorists" and caused the Justice Department to call the FBI on concerned parents. Both the Louisiana and Virginia school board groups are members of NSBA.
In a statement released by Louisiana School Board Association (LSBA), the group declared that it "does not address action by the NSBA nor Washington D.C. politics but feel it necessary to update our membership about NSBA's recent request." It added that the group "was not consulted about the content of the letter" and that it "does not agree with NSBA's action."
LSBA argued that the NSBA's "request and description of events is not a universal occurrence at all school boards" and that it "fails to align with the standards of good governance, and it discourages active participation in the governance process." It also condemned the NSBA's request and described it as a "huge step backwards in the collective advocacy efforts" of school boards across America. The LSBA added that they are now "evaluating" the "future" of their affiliation with the NSBA.
Similarly, the Virginia School Boards Association (VSBA), through its president Janet Turner-Giles and executive director Gina G. Patterson admitted that they, too, were "not consulted" about the letter addressed to President Biden. They said in a statement that the letter is "not the first disagreement that VSBA has had with its national association and probably will not be the last" and that it was important that its members knew their stance on the matter.
VSBA declared that the group and its 132 local school division members recognize the important role of parents in the education of their children. The Virginia school board group said, "While we look for support to our state and federal governments, we do not seek the involvement of federal law enforcement or other officials in local decisions."
A USA Today report argued last week that "There is no proof that involved, concerned parents are a dangerous threat to school boards" and that U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland is merely making "a mountain out a molehill."
But the fact is that there is no evidence of violent threats. School board meetings have bore witness to raised voices and heated arguments, but no actual "domestic terrorist threats" like the NSBA makes it out to be.
