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The highly controversial National School Boards Association letter sent to President Joe Biden that compared protesting parents to domestic terrorists and led the FBI to use counterterrorism tactics against parents was drafted at the direction of Biden's education secretary, Miguel Cardona, a newly obtained email indicates.
What are the details?
The potential bombshell — which raises serious concerns that the Biden administration engaged in a preconceived war on concerned American parents — was revealed in an Oct. 5 email exchange between two of the NSBA's board members, Marnie Maldonado and Kristi Swett.
In the exchange, Swett, who serves as the association's secretary-treasurer, responded to concerns from Maldonado about the letter by recounting that interim CEO Chip Slaven had "told the [board] officers he was writing a letter to provide information to the White House, from a request by Secretary Cardona."
The email communication was unearthed by the activist group Parents Defending Education through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Parents Defending Education previously reported that the NSBA had coordinated with the White House and the Department of Justice for weeks prior to the sending of the letter, notifying state directors that "a letter requesting federal assistance would be sent." The association even allegedly altered the letter's text at the White House's request.
What's the background?
What's more, the infamous letter, sent Sept. 29, was directly relied upon by Attorney General Merrick Garland in his issuing of an Oct. 4 memo dispatching the FBI to address a supposed "disturbing spike" of "harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence" against school administrators, board members, and other personnel.
In the letter, NSBA officials claimed that education leaders around the country were under "immediate threat" for "approving policies for masks to protect the health and safety of students and school employees" and "propaganda purporting the false inclusion of critical race theory within classroom instruction and curricula."
They urged the government to act on their behalf, in part, by classifying alleged threats from parents as acts of "domestic terrorism" and "hate crimes."
It was later revealed that the FBI did just that, creating a "threat tag, EDUOFFICIALS," for agents to "track" any "threats of violence or fear" against school personnel.
Why does it matter?
If true that Cardona originally requested the letter, it would mean that the Biden administration was involved in the formulation of a policy to track and monitor parents as domestic terrorists from start to finish.
It seems that the administration only wanted the cover of an urgent request for assistance from the NSBA to bolster its predetermined plans to go after parents protesting COVID-19 policies and critical race theory teaching.
"Should this allegation be true, it would reveal that this administration's pretextual war on parents came from the highest levels," Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, told Fox News in a statement.
"Attorney General Merrick Garland unequivocally stated that he based his memo on the NSBA's letter — which in turn, mobilized the FBI and US Attorneys," she added. "If Secretary Cardona was truly involved in this ugly episode, it is a significant breach of public trust, and he should be held accountable."
National School Boards Association faces 'critical loss' of funding over letter likening some parents to domestic terrorists
The National School Boards Association is quickly learning that demonizing parents who are concerned about their children’s education, and even likening some to domestic terrorists, is not a winning strategy.
In fact, the decision has triggered a "critical loss" of financial backing for the organization.
What is the background?
The Justice Department sent shock waves throughout the U.S. in October when Attorney General Merrick Garland announced he had dispatched the FBI to respond to a number of concerns lodged by the NSBA.
In September, the NSBA wrote President Joe Biden requesting federal intervention over heated confrontations between parents and school boards. The NSBA claimed school board members had been subjected to threats, intimidation, and, in some cases, actual violence.
Not only did the NSBA request intervention from federal law enforcement agencies, the organization urged the federal government to characterize sharp reaction against school boards as "domestic terrorism" and "hate crimes."
The NSBA later apologized. The mea culpa, however, did not stop more than one dozen state education boards from withdrawing support from the NSBA.
What is happening now?
Axios reported that at least 17 states have withdrawn support for the NSBA, cutting off the organization from a significant reservoir of funding.
In fact, financial documents obtained by Axios showed that those states accounted for more than $1 million in annual dues in 2019, or more than 40% of all annual dues received by the NSBA that year.
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The group gets more dues income directly from school districts, with more than 1,200 providing nearly $5.3 million this year, according to NSBA records. Like the state associations, some of those districts also have severed ties with the group this fall.
The $1.1 million figure likely undercounts state associations' financial support, which also includes contributions related to NSBA conferences and events. The Montana School Boards Association, for instance, initially budgeted for $68,000 in 2021-22 dues payments. But it estimated its total financial commitment to be much higher, at nearly $160,000. It voted last month to leave the NSBA.
What did the NSBA say?
A spokesman for the organization downplayed the financial headache caused by the states withdrawing their membership from the NSBA.
"NSBA continues to have the resources we need to be effective on behalf of our members, and we will relentlessly work to advance our mission and continuously improve as an organization," the spokesperson told Axios.
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