Last Updated on January 15, 2022
In October, the National Education Association (NEA) sent a letter to social media giants urging them to take action against “propaganda” about critical race theory which they claim had stoked “a small but violent group of radicalized parents.”
The letter was sent not long after the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a now infamous letter to the DOJ in which they compared anti-CRT parents to domestic terrorists. Critics have suggested that the letters represent open coordination between government and interest groups to silence parents.
Previous emails had revealed that the NSBA was in contact with the White House and Justice Department in the weeks before it publicly sent its letter.
Last week, an NSBA official told Fox News that the NSBA letter was solicited by U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona.
In an October 5 email, NSBA Secretary-Treasurer Kristi Swett recounted that NSBA interim CEO Chip Slaven “told the officers he was writing a letter to provide information to the White House, from a request by Secretary Cardona.”
“This looks like a concerted effort between the federal government and outside groups like the NEA and NSBA to interfere with the First Amendment rights of parents,” Ian Prior, father and executive director at Fight for Schools, told Fox News.
A spokesman for Cardona has denied the claim.
In the NEA letter, association President Becky Pringle urged the leaders of Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok to combat online “trends” that “have helped create a culture of fear and violence with educators as targets.”
After mentioning a TikTok trend encouraging property damage at schools, Pringle noted “the alarming growth of a small but violent group of radicalized adults who falsely believe that graduate level courses about racism are being taught in K-12 public schools because of misinformation spread on social media.”
Pringle also praised the NSBA letter and Merrick Garland’s subsequent memo in reply. Garland’s memo promised the formation of task forces consisting of federal law enforcement personnel with the mission of monitoring anti-CRT parents.
“We applaud this effort,” Pringle said in reference to the memo.
The NSBA received intense backlash after the letter and later issued an apology, but not before a handful of states opted to end their affiliations with the group. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey are among 18 states that have voted to cut ties with the NBSA to date.
Republican lawmakers have called for more states to follow.
The NEA revelations have brought the NSBA controversy back to the spotlight while accusations of coordination between these groups and the Biden Administration is mounting.
“It’s unsurprising that NEA leadership is demonizing parents and concerned citizens who’ve expressed their concerns about the state of America’s schools – after all, over the past two years it’s become abundantly clear that union leaders’ primary objective is to maintain their iron grip on power,” Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, told Fox News.
