During a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Attorney
General Merrick Garland confirmed that he will not dissolve the task force
he formed to investigate threats leveled by parents against school-board
members, despite the National School Board Association apologizing for the
letter which Garland has said served as the predicate for the task force�s
formation.

When asked about the task force by ranking Republican Senator Chuck
Grassley, Garland suggested that the body is still necessary even though
the NSBA backtracked on its original request for federal intervention to
probe and potentially prosecute parents found guilty of threatening school
administrators. In its apology statement released last week, the
organization also reversed its characterization of parent protests at
school board meetings as �domestic terrorism.�

�On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for this letter. . . . There
was no justification for some of the language included in this letter,� it
read.

The NSBA�s about-face came after state school board chapters across the
country distanced themselves or formally disassociated from the national
group, which they said failed to consult them before issuing a memo they
would have refused to endorse.

In defense of his decision to keep the task force, Garland said the NSBA
letter wasn�t the only predicate for DOJ action, citing �news reports�
detailing threats against school board members that he suggested justified
intervention.

Republican Senator Tom Cotton rebuked this idea, however, referencing the
Loudoun County student sexual assault report published by the Daily Wire
revealing that the parent of a female victim was silenced by the school
board and subsequently arrested for protesting the incident at a meeting.

��This is shameful,� Cotton said. �Thank God you�re not on the Supreme
Court. You should resign in disgrace.�

At least 19 state school board groups told non-profit Parents Defending
Education that they disagreed with the messaging of the NSBA letter
branding parent demonstrations as possible �hate crimes� and with the plea
for federal intervention, which they argued infringed upon the
constitutional authority of local school boards to manage their own
public-school systems. In addition, the groups said the NSBA neither
consulted nor informed them of its intention to send a letter to President
Biden.

As of Tuesday, the Ohio, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Louisiana
state school board groups have severed their relationship with the
national organization in response to its letter and the DOJ�s memo.

In its letter to the NSBA, the Ohio group wrote that its departure �is a
direct result of the letter sent by you to President Joe Biden late last
month.�

�The NSBA demonstrated just how out of touch the national association is
with the concerns of local school boards and the principle of local
control,� it added.

During the hearing, Republican Senator Ben Sasse questioned why Garland
would not disavow his memo when so many state school board associations
have rejected it as well as cut ties with the national group. He accused
Garland of launching a campaign against parents to politicize the DOJ.

�Why did the Ohio school board association disassociate from the National
School Board Association?,� Sasse asked.

�I don�t know,� Garland replied. �Because this was political hackery,�
Sasse shot back. The senator reiterated that while legitimate threats
should not be condoned or dismissed, �local law enforcement is more than
able to handle one idiot or twelve idiots at local school board meetings.�

�But you have made it a federal issue and I have no idea why,� Sasse
added. He then demanded that Garland report back to the House Judiciary
Committee to share the findings of the task force�s assessment to
elucidate for Congress �how big of a threat parents really pose.�

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/garland-refuses-to-dissolve-school-
board-task-force-despite-national-school-board-group-apology/