We Did it: School board group backtracks on letter for security help from DOJ

Oct 25, 2021

Presented by Sallie Mae®

NSBA WALKS IT BACK: The National School Boards Association has apologized for a letter that called on President Joe Biden to use the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, its National Threat Assessment Center and other federal agencies to stop "threats and acts of violence" on school officials during school board meetings.

— About a month after the association sent its initial plea letter to the Biden administration, the NSBA has faced outrage on all sides — from its members, state attorneys general, lawmakers and parent advocacy groups. These critics say the involvement of the FBI in school board meetings would chill parents' free speech. "The NSBA seems more concerned about suppressing speech with which it disagrees than real threats of violence," more than a dozen attorneys general wrote.

— Nicole Neily, president of Parents Defending Education, a group "working to reclaim our schools from activists imposing harmful agendas," said her group has emailed 47 state school board associations for comment on the NSBA's Sept. 29 letter. Neily said 19 have distanced themselves from the group's letter, and many state school boards said they had not been made aware of the NSBA's request ahead of time.

— "On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter," a memo from NSBA's board to its members said. "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. We apologize also for the strain and stress this situation has caused you and your organizations."

— "A $19 million trade association has nothing on a bunch of mad moms," Neily said in a statement in response to the apology. More than 7,500 people have also sent letters directly to the Justice Department, she told POLITICO, in order to say that "parents are not domestic terrorists."

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Department of Justice

Attorney General Merrick Garland, speaking at an event last month, is scheduled to visit Chicago July 22, 2021.

Merrick Garland | AP Photo/Patrick Semansky

GARLAND TO TESTIFY WEDNESDAY BEFORE THE SENATE: Attorney General Merrick Garland defended the Justice Department's planned response to threats of violence against school board members and educators during the House Judiciary committee hearing last week. He's expected to testify on Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and his memo is likely to come up.

— Garland told the House Judiciary Committee last week that there is nothing in his memo that suggests FBI agents will be attending school board meetings. "I do not believe that parents who testify, speak, argue with, [or] complain about school boards and schools should be classified as domestic terrorists or any kind of criminals," he said.

— The Justice Department was also expected to unveil a series of additional measures to "address the rise in criminal conduct directed toward school personnel," as Garland wrote. In the memo, dated Oct. 4, he also directed the FBI to set up meetings with local leaders and "open dedicated lines of communication for threat reporting assessment, and response" within 30 days. Garland told lawmakers last week that he didn't know how many of those meetings had already occurred, but that he expected them to continue taking place.

—"People are scared," Neily said. "They're like, are we going to be investigated? Do we need to worry? What happens if the FBI comes for us?"

"Part of the problem is, … how do you define threats and harassment?" she added. "If a school board member says, 'You booed me, that's harassing, I'm calling the cops,' … that's different from a legal standard. I still think people are really worried because even if they go and engage in the process in good faith, they can still be accused of being a malign actor."

— The group, through public records requests, also found that the board of the NSBA was not consulted before their letter was sent. An email sent by Chip Slaven, NSBA's interim executive director, also indicated White House staff had been in communication with NSBA staff over "several weeks" while the letter was being drafted.

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In Congress

WHAT'S IN AND WHAT'S OUT: Democrats are slashing proposals in their social spending bill in the hopes of cutting it down from $3.5 trillion to roughly $2 trillion. Here's what's left of it, according to POLITICO's Jennifer Scholtes and Caitlin Emma ( Pros, get the full list here):

— Free community college is out. Biden publicly acknowledged last week that one of his more ambitious education campaign promises has been struck from this package. Key senators, including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), had opposed this particular proposal, according to Democratic aides. There were also complaints from other sectors within higher education, like four-year universities, which instead wanted Biden to focus on increasing Pell grants.

— Child care and universal pre-K are still in, but changes are likely. Those proposals, some of the most popular parts of the measure, could get pared down from their $450 billion price — or could get an expiration date. Business lobby opposition rose in light of an analysis from left-leaning think tank the People's Policy Project, which predicted that the plan could jack up child care prices by more than $13,000 a year for families making more than their state's median income.

— The Child Tax Credit will be shortened. Democrats wanted the expanded tax credit to last for four years, but the White House is now proposing a one-year extension instead.

— What's next: Democrats are hoping to reach at least a framework agreement with the party's moderate senators before the end of the month, though it could still take weeks to finalize the package. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Manchin also met with Biden on Sunday at his home in Delaware.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR: Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) are looking to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would start the process of convening a national White House conference on food, nutrition, hunger and health.

— McGovern, who chairs the House Rules Committee, held a roundtable last month focused on hunger on college campuses as part of a series highlighting food insecurity in America. "It is estimated that as many as 59 percent of college students will confront food insecurity at some point, threatening their ability to graduate and achieve their professional goals," he said at the time.

— The first and only White House conference focused on hunger and nutrition was convened in 1969, according to a press release. The conference spurred the creation and expansion of programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children and the National School Breakfast and Lunch Program.

Immigration

FIRST IN MORNING ED: IMMIGRANT ADVOCACY DAY ACROSS 150 COLLEGES SLATED FOR THURSDAY: The I Stand With Immigrants Initiative, organized by immigration reform group FWD.us, will host a day of action on Thursday, with student-led events slated to take place at more than 150 colleges and universities. Organizers say the Democratic social spending bill represents a critical opportunity for Congress to pass immigration relief and protections for undocumented immigrants of all backgrounds. Thousands of students, faculty and campus community members in 31 states and D.C. will also call on their elected officials to act.

— Context: The New York Times reported that earlier this month Democratic leaders could consider a "long-shot proposal … in the president's sweeping social safety net package to provide temporary legal status to millions of undocumented immigrants."

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Report Roundup

— The Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity's report, titled "Is College Worth It? A Comprehensive Return-on-Investment Analysis,"calculates the return on investment for nearly 30,000 bachelor's degrees across America based on Education Department data and Census Bureau surveys.

Syllabus

— America's Standardized-Testing Giants Are Losing Money Fast: The Chronicle of Higher Education

— Cardona is pushing for billions more for schools. But will federal control come with it? The Hechinger Report

— Some colleges are practicing 'affirmative action' for boys, since more girls apply, education experts say. It points to a bigger problem: Insider

— Universities In Several Red States Say They'll Follow Federal Vaccine Mandate: Forbes

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