Ohio School Board Association Blasts National Group For Labeling ‘Parents As Domestic Terrorists,’ Pulls Membership

The Ohio School Boards Association (OSBA) Board of Trustees voted to end its affiliation with the National School Board Association (NSBA) after the latter requested a federal crackdown on recent “threats” to school board members.

“The Board of Trustees’ decision was prompted by NSBA’s recent letter to President Joe Biden requesting federal intervention at local school board meetings,” OSBA Chief Executive Officer Rick Lewis said in a statement.

The OSBA’s move is the latest in a wave of criticism and backlash against the NSBA over the letter, which the national organization apologized for last week. The Pennsylvania School Board Association was the first state-level group to rescind its membership to the NSBA on October 14.

The OSBA slammed the NSBA for sending the letter without first consulting the state organization and for undermining parent and community-centered education in favor of federal control

“OSBA believes strongly in the value of parental and community discussion at school board meetings, and we reject the labeling of parents as domestic terrorists,” the state association said in a letter to the NSBA on Monday. “There is tremendous value in allowing and encouraging the public to have meaningful input into the decision-making process. However, that participation should not come at the expense of interfering with the board’s ability to conduct its business or subjecting individual board members to threats of violence, abuse, or harassment. That said, dealing with such interference should be dealt with at the local level, not by federal officials.”

The NSBA apologized on Friday for its letter, which Attorney General Merrick Garland said inspired his decision to order the FBI to crack down on “harassment” and “threats” at school board meetings.

“On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter,” the organization wrote in a letter to NSBA members. “To be clear, the safety of school board members, other public 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. We apologize also for the strain and stress this situation has caused you and your organizations.”

“As we’ve reiterated since the letter was sent, we deeply value not only the work of local school boards that make important contributions within our communities, but also

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