COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio School Boards Association announced Tuesday it is cutting ties with the National School Boards Association citing frustration over a recent request for federal intervention at school board meetings.
The National School Boards Association sent a letter to President Joe Biden in September asking for assistance to protect students, school board members and educators amid alleged threats made to districts in response to COVID-19 policies and mask mandates.
“America’s public schools and its education leaders are under an immediate threat,” the letter reads in part.
In a statement sent Tuesday, the Ohio School Boards Association said its decision to end its affiliation with the NSBA is a direct result of the letter.
“We believe in the value of parental and community discussion at school board meetings, and there is tremendous value in allowing and encouraging the public to have meaningful input into the decision-making process,” the statement reads in part.
“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. But dealing with such interference should be dealt with at the local level, not by federal officials,” it goes on to say.
In the letter addressed to Biden, the NSBA also expressed concern over attacks against school board members and educators in response to what it says is false information that critical race theory is being included in classroom instruction.
“This propaganda continues despite the fact that critical race theory is not taught in public schools and remains a complex law school and graduate school subject well beyond the scope of a K-12 class,” the letter reads.
You can read the NSBA’s letter in full here.
Click here to read the letter sent from the OSBA to the NSBA.
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