Nebraska Becomes the 25th State to Withdraw from NSBA After Letter Comparing Concerned Parents to ‘Domestic Terrorists’

The National School Boards Association (NSBA) last month released findings of an independent review about a letter Viola Garcia, former NSBA president, and Chip Slaven, former interim executive director/CEO, sent a letter to President Joe Biden in September claiming that parents were threatening school board members and asked the federal government to investigate parents. And compared them to domestic terrorists.

An earlier draft of the letter called for the Army National Guard and the military to be deployed to certain school districts and related events where these supposed violent threats occurred.

In response, Attorney General Merrick Garland tasked the FBI to work with state and local governments to investigate the supposed threats.

The NSBA retracted the letter and apologized to state board members. It was too little, too late, because states began withdrawing membership and disassociating themselves with the NSBA.

New CEO and executive director John Heim said the letter “directly contradicts our core commitments to parent engagement, local control, and nonpartisanship. The sentiments shared in the letter do not represent the views or position of the NSBA. The NSBA does not seek or advocate for federal law enforcement intervention at local school board meetings.”

Fox News reported that Nebraska has become the 25th state to withdraw from the NSBA.

The NASB board of directors unanimously voted Saturday to formally sever ties after the NSBA sent a controversial letter in September 2021 to the Biden administration comparing actions taken by angry parents at school board meetings to domestic terrorism.
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The Nebraska group confirmed they will not pay dues to the NSBA this year, the Omaha World-Herald reported. On May 24th, the executive committee voted to recommend to the board of directors that the Nebraska Association of School Boards not renew its membership in the NSBA. The recommendation was accepted in a formal vote Saturday.

Photo credit: Tony Webster (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved

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