Controversy continues in the wake of President Biden's administration's response to the heat some parents are bringing toward teachers and school boards over curriculum being introduced in public schools across the country.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memo last week ordering area FBI and U.S. attorney's offices to meet with government officials at all levels in the coming weeks, according to the Springfield News-Leader.
The initiative comes on the heels of school boards and classrooms across the nation dealing with mask mandates and curriculum concerning racism, prompting Garland to state it has led to "a disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation and threats of violence."
President Joe Biden
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Garland's memo states there will be impending new federal initiatives and training for teachers, as well as possible prosecutions "when appropriate."
Melissa Randol, executive director with Missouri School Boards’ Association, issued a statement regarding the National School Boards Association request to the White House requesting federal assistance to deal with cases of harassment.
“While we recognize that there are serious issues occurring around the country and in some communities in Missouri, we strongly disagree with the tone of the NSBA letter and especially with the call for federal involvement,” she said. “MSBA is not a subsidiary of the National School Boards Association. We are entirely separate entities. NSBA does not have any governance control over our organization. By that same token, MSBA was not consulted nor given the opportunity to advise on the NSBA letter to the White House. We were disappointed with the NSBA letter and have clearly expressed our disagreement to them in no uncertain terms.”
She added that the association firmly believes in the First Amendment rights of “parents and all citizens to speak freely and petition their governments.”