An institution representing more than 90,000 school officials across the US begged Joe Biden Wednesday to send FBI and Secret Service agents to protect them from ‘mobs’ of angry parents irate over vaccine and mask mandates forced upon their children – asserting their protests should be treated as ‘domestic terrorism’ by ‘extremist hate organizations.’
In a letter penned to the president and published online, the National School Boards Association implored the US government to take a stand against these vexed parents, stating that teachers and other school staffers are under ‘immediate threat’ because of their burgeoning ‘acts of malice, violence, and threats.’
The complaint, signed by NSBA President Viola Garcia and Interim Executive Director and CEO Chip Slaven, called upon Biden personally to and use his executive power to mobilize FBI and US Secret Service agents to guard school officials.
‘The National School Boards Association (NSBA) respectfully asks for federal law enforcement and other assistance to deal with the growing number of threats of violence and acts of intimidation occurring across the nation,’ the letter to Biden begins.
The correspondence goes on to mention incidents of ‘threats or actual acts of violence’ against school staffers, alleging that ‘angry mobs’ have hindered their ability to hold school board meetings, because of reported outbursts from ‘extremist’ parents irate over vaccine and mask mandates being pressured upon their students in order for them to go to school.
‘As these threats and acts of violence have become more prevalent,’ the org asserts in the note, ‘NSBA respectfully asks that a joint collaboration among federal law enforcement agencies, state and local law enforcement, and with public school officials be undertaken to focus on these threats.’
The complaint then states that the supposed threats and outbursts – or even alleged acts of violence – are ‘impacting the delivery of educational services to students and families,’ and causing school board members and other staffers to resign from their respective posts, citing concerns for their safety.
‘With such acute threats and actions that are disruptive to our students’ well-being,’ the letter continues, ‘we urge the federal government’s intervention against individuals or hate groups who are targeting our schools and educators.’
‘As the threats grow and news of is being reported, this is a critical time for a proactive approach to deal with this difficult issue.’
One of the protests mentioned in the NSBA’s letter, a board meeting in Gwinnett County in Atlanta back in May, was halted by Board Chair Everton Blair after a group of peaceful parent protesters fighting for their kids’ rights to not have to wear masks during the upcoming school year, refused to don masks.
The meeting was put on pause for more than an hour, leaving parents who were against the state’s mask mandates unable to voice their concerns on the subject.
Mandy Smith, a mother who has two children at Dacula Middle School in Gwinnett County, attended the meeting without a mask and wore an ‘Unmask our children’ shirt.
Smith argued that she was left unable to air her grievances with the policy because chair members refused to hold the meeting just because they were confronted by protesters.
‘They can’t proceed with the board meeting but we’ve been in the same room for over an hour,’ Smith said, frustrated. ‘We can’t talk about the important issues we came here to talk about.’
Another meeting mentioned by the organization in their letter, a School Board meeting in Nevada’s Clark County in August, was also spurred to a standstill after parents voiced their opposition to COVID-19 mask requirements and vaccinations.
The School Board left the room three times within the first two hours of the congregation, evacuating the room once for about 10 minutes after being met with jeers by parents unhappy with the mandates being enforced by the public school system.
After the meeting reconvened, the audience again tried to voice their opinions on the controversial matter, and were twice forced to undergo a forced intermission.
Eventually, 20 minutes into the meeting, the board ended the assembly after the majority of audience refused to stand by in silence.
One attendee then stood up and addressed the crowd, saying everyone drove out to the meeting and asked if they could continue.
A police officer responded to the attendees, saying that some were violating public meeting law by voicing their outrage.
He then told them that the board wouldn’t come back in the room to resume the meeting if the parents continued to speak out of turn.
After another 10 minutes, Cavazos and Superintendent Jesus Jara came back into the room.
‘We are not going to have these disruptions,’ Cavazos told the crowd, referring to the jeering and protesting by angry parents.
During public comment at the beginning of the meeting, after several hundred parents and some school district employees protested the district’s mask policy outside the district headquarters the fay before, attendees argued that the district has no right to promote propaganda’ about children needing to get vaccinated.
Some parents said they feel their parental rights are being stripped away.
Melody Hendry, the mother of three children in Clark County schools and a registered nurse, stated that masks aren’t meant to be worn for an extended period of time and ‘the majority of us’ feel this is abuse to require them for children.
Another August school board meeting that was suspended and cited in the NSBA’s strange supplication to the US president, in the Wall Township of New Jersey, was called to an abrupt end just after roll call, when more than 60 parents peacefully refused to don masks amid another mandate for the 2021 school year.
More than 10 people who allegedly disrupted the meeting were told to leave, and many did on their own accord, while some were escorted out of the room by police.
One attendee was handcuffed.
‘We will not have comments from the audience,’ Board President Linda Cavazos told the dissenters, urging police officers to remove any parents being disruptive and shouting out their gripes with the mandates being forced on their children.
In the letter, the organization proceeded to plead with the president.
‘There also must be safeguards in place to protect public schools and dedicated education leaders as they do their jobs,’ the note asserts, then labeling the outraged parents showing up at school board meetings across the county as right-winged radicals.
‘As the threats grow and news of extremist hate organizations showing up at school board meetings is being reported, this is a critical time for a proactive approach to deal with this difficult issue,’ the statement reads.
They then ask for ‘immediate assistance’ to combat these alleged instances, adding that the prospective federal intervention would be ‘required to protect our students, school board members, and educators,’ from possible ‘acts of violence.’
The group also asked the president to enlist the US Postal Inspection Service to help as well, to pour through millions of letters and filter out notes that may threaten staffers and students, and address ‘cyberbullying attacks’ targeting students and educators alike.
The letter then implored Biden to mobilize these important federal bodies to ‘investigate, intercept, and prevent the current threats and acts of violence against our public school officials’ by whatever ‘extraordinary measures’ necessary, ‘to ensure the safety of our children and educators.’
The note goes on to praise Biden, while pandering for the president’s help, lauding the politician for his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
‘NSBA appreciates your leadership to end the proliferation of COVID-19 in our communities and our school districts,’ speaking on the president’s very public urging for people – including children – to get the vaccine.
The org also applauded the mandates the president has put in place to ‘prevent COVID-19 infections among students and educators,’ such as ‘the use of face masks and other precautions.’
The correspondence then concludes, iterating that the organization ‘is committed to working with’ the president and his administration ‘as a partner to address this crisis affecting America’s public schools.’
‘We stand ready to work with you,’ the presumptuous plea proclaims.
The NSBA proudly posted the letter to their website Wednesday, sharing a link on Twitter as well.
Biden’s administration has yet to respond to the very public appeal for the president’s services.
The NSBA’s complaint comes as COVID-19 cases among American children continue to drop after reaching record-high levels earlier this month.
More than 206,000 kids and teenagers in the U.S. tested positive for Covid last week, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
The figure represents an eight percent decrease from approximately 225,000 minors who contracted the virus the week prior.
Because of kids’ low risk of severe disease and death, parents and doctors alike are divided down the middle on whether or not to vaccinate kids.
Some medical professionals have suggested that kids do not need to get vaccinated due to their low risk of severe disease and death.
In April 2021 poll, conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation, parents were asked if they would get their child immunized once a COVID-19 vaccine is authorized and available for their child’s age group.
Three in 10 parents – 29 percent – of children under 18 said they would get their child vaccinated ‘right away’ while 15 percent said they only plan to vaccinate their children if the school requires it and 19 percent said their child will definitely not be getting vaccinated.
A July 2021 survey, conducted by CS Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health at Michigan Medicine last month, found that 39 percent of parents said their children already gotten a coronavirus shot.
However, 40 percent of parents also said it was ‘unlikely’ that their children would be getting vaccinated.
The NSBA oversees 14,000 local public school districts that provide schooling for more than 50 million children across the the country.