Ascension Parish schools cut ties with national group for labeling parents terrorists – The Advocate

The Ascension Parish School Board joined its statewide counterpart in leaving the National School Boards Association after the group asked for federal help in dealing with what it called "the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation" against local K-12 officials over COVID-19 precautions.

In an about face, the National School Boards Association has backed off its claim that actions by local school board activists amount to "dome

NSBA apologized last week for its Sept. 29 letter asking President Biden to get the U.S. Department of Justice, FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other agencies to address "acts of malice, violence and threats" against public school officials that could be classified as "equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."

In its apology, the national group said: "To be clear, the safety of school board members, other school officials and educators, and students is our top priority, and there remains important work to be done on this issue. However, there was no justification for some of the language included in the letter. We should have had a better process in place to allow for consultation on a communication of this significance."

The Louisiana School Boards Association is dropping out of the National School Boards Association after officials of the umbrella group asked

The Louisiana School Boards Association voted on Oct. 15 to withdraw from NSBA after the national organization's request for federal intervention.

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On Tuesday, the Ascension Parish School Board unanimously approved without comment by board members a resolution supporting the Louisiana School Boards Association's withdrawal.

The vote means the Ascension School Board will suspend financial and other support to the NSBA, including travel to any event hosted, supported or endorsed by the organization.

Ascension Parish resident Brandon Gomez voiced support for the resolution ahead of the vote Tuesday.

"Local school boards should make local decisions," he said.

"We pay y'all, y'all serve us," Gomez said. "We should always be the first to be considered and the last to be left out."

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Ascension Parish schools cut ties with national group for labeling parents terrorists - The Advocate