A group of Republican lawmakers in the Michigan State Senate signed a letter written by Senator Jim Runestad (R-White Lake), urging the Michigan Association of School Boards (MASB) to withdraw its membership and affiliation from the National School Board Association (NSBA).
In the letter, the state lawmakers expressed concern over the direction of local schooling and the role parents are allowed to play in their children’s education.
“Like you, we care very deeply about the future of our students, our families, and Michigan’s education system. We are especially concerned about the direction of local schooling, as well as the role that parents should be playing in their children’s education,” the letter stated.
The legislator cited the connection between the NSBA and Attorney General Merrick Garland’s decision to launch an effort to address the alleged increase in “threats” made against school officials.
“The NSBA’s disrespectful and antagonistic actions against parents — including the urging of federal authorities to probe and potentially prosecute parents as ‘domestic terrorists’ — raises serious concerns about the organization, its leadership, and its ability to advocate on behalf of local education in general,” the letter continued.
Across the country, dozens of state organizations have pushed to distance themselves from the NSBA, despite the group detailing that they “regret and apologize for the letter.”
“Although the NSBA scrambled to publicly apologize for its appalling Sept. 29 letter, its more recently illuminated behind-the-scenes efforts to encourage the Biden administration to weaponize the federal government against parents amounts to an unforgivable attack on the principals of our constitutionally protected republic,” said Runestad.
Most recently, the Virginia School Board Association (VSBA) voted to end its membership with the NSBA.
In addition to the letter that encouraged Garland’s investigation, the group explained “a persistent pattern of dysfunction within the NSBA organization and among those charged with its governance.”
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Senator Jim Runestad” by Senator Jim Runestad.
