The Pennsylvania School Boards Association (PSBA) has withdrawn from the National School Boards Association (NSBA) because of the NSBA’s letter suggesting the recent behavior of individuals in school board meetings could eventually rise to the level of “domestic terrorism or hate crimes.”
PSBA wrote bluntly, “The most recent national controversy surrounding a letter to President Biden suggesting that some parents should be considered domestic terrorists was the final straw.”
The memo began, “The Governing Board of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association has voted unanimously to cancel PSBA’s longstanding membership in the National School Boards Association. The decision was reached following significant deliberations and discussions with counsel and management.”
“PSBA membership in NSBA should bring value and support to our organization and local school directors,” the memo continued. “The value of the NSBA federation membership has been questioned numerous times over the past several years both within Pennsylvania and amongst many other state school boards associations. The most recent national controversy surrounding a letter to President Biden suggesting that some parents should be considered domestic terrorists was the final straw.”
“This misguided approach has made our work and that of many school boards more difficult,” the memo asserted. “It has fomented more disputes and cast partisanship on our work on behalf of school directors when we seek to find common ground and support all school directors in their work, no matter their politics. Now is not the time for more politics and posturing, it is the time for solutions to the many challenges facing education. … It has been a struggle for the board and leadership of the Pennsylvania School Boards Association to identify a reason to continue to be a part of a federation that is not focused on bipartisanship, civility and seeking solutions to the internal problems that have plagued the national organization for so long.”
The Pennsylvania School Boards Association circulated an internal memo indicating that "the most recent national controversy surrounding a letter to President Biden suggesting that some parents should be considered domestic terrorists was the final straw."
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) October 15, 2021
full statement: pic.twitter.com/XCWGIpmD2h
— Corey A. DeAngelis (@DeAngelisCorey) October 15, 2021
The National School Boards Association (NSBA) wrote a letter to President Biden on September 29 in which they stated:
America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat. The National School Boards Association (NSBA) respectfully asks for federal law enforcement and other assistance to deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation. …
NSBA believes immediate assistance is required to protect our students, school board members, and educators who are susceptible to acts of violence affecting interstate commerce because of threats to their districts, families, and personal safety.
While local and state law enforcement agencies are working with public school officials in several communities to prevent further disruptions to educational services and school district operations, law enforcement officials in some jurisdictions need assistance – including help with monitoring the threat levels. As these threats and acts of violence have become more prevalent – during public school board meetings, via documented threats transmitted through the U.S. Postal Service, through social media and other online platforms, and around personal properties – NSBA respectfully asks that a joint collaboration among federal law enforcement agencies, state and local law enforcement, and with public school officials be undertaken to focus on these threats.2
NSBA specifically solicits the expertise and resources of the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Secret Service, and its National Threat Assessment Center3 regarding the level of risk to public schoolchildren, educators, board members, and facilities/campuses. We also request the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to intervene against threatening letters and cyberbullying attacks that have been transmitted to students, school board members, district administrators, and other educators.
As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes.