Florida School Board Opposes NSBA’s Demands To Be Backed By FBI In Dealing With Anti-CRT Parents

The Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) has expressed disapproval over the National School Boards Association's (NSBA) request to President Joe Biden to provide them with federal law enforcement assistance to deal with what they call "domestic terrorists." These so-called "domestic terrorists" are in fact community members and concerned parents who oppose critical race theory and mask mandates, among other leftist ideologies.

The FSBA's rejection of the NSBA's plea comes just days after the Louisiana and Virginia School Board Associations both denounced the letter submitted to the president asking for FBI protections. According to Breitbart, Florida school board group executive director Andrea Messina wrote a letter to NSBA President Viola Garcia and interim executive director Chip Slaven, stating that it was not consulted about the letter to President Biden, a similar claim raised by the Louisiana and Virginia School Board Associations.

Messina then suggested the need for "a review of NSBA leadership and its processes." She added that NSBA's letter to the Democratic leader "urges a public acknowledgment of the federal overreach" expressed in it. She denounced "several elements" in the letter, which she claimed "run counter to the tenets embraced by the FSBA." She lamented that the letter has "caused serious concerns, conflict, and consternation for many of our members within the FSBA."

Messina argued that the letter not only "unnecessarily distracted" from the work of school board members but also "strained important local and state collaborative relationships" between members. In its letter to President Biden, the NSBA urged the administration to utilize the PATRIOT Act and other statutes to identify and punish parents who speak about their concerns over critical race theory and mask mandates and labeled them as "domestic terrorists."

In response to the NSBA's letter to President Biden, the Department of Justice through U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland ordered the U.S. Attorneys' Offices, FBI, and other law enforcement to launch "series of additional efforts" that will "address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel."

The Federalist reported that as of this week, at least 14 state school board associations reported to Parents Defending Education claiming that they were not consulted before the letter was formally submitted to the Biden administration. Another school board association that denied any involvement in the development of the letter was the state of Georgia.

"The Georgia School Boards Association (GSBA) was not consulted about this letter, did not provide information to NSBA, and was not informed that the letter was being sent, even though a Georgia school district was used as an example in the letter," GSBA announced in a statement provided to Parents Defending Education.

Meanwhile, the Delaware School Boards Association said it "disagrees, in the strongest possible terms, with parents and citizens protesting school board meetings being characterized as 'domestic terrorists' and their protests being likened to 'hate crimes.'"