School Boards Are Asking For Federal Help As They Face Threats And Violence

September 30, 2021

Confrontations over masks, vaccines and how race is taught in schools have many school board members across the U.S. worried for their safety.

Mobs are yelling obscenities and throwing objects. In one district, a protester brandished a flagpole against a school board official. Other cases have included a protester yelling a Nazi salute, arrests for aggravated battery and disorderly conduct, and numerous death threats against public officials.

School board meetings, usually one of the most mundane examples of local democracy in action, have exploded with vitriol across the country in recent months, and school leaders are scared.

That's according to a letter that the National School Boards Association sent this week to President Biden. It's asking for help from federal law enforcement, including the Justice, Education and Homeland Security departments as well as the FBI, saying: "These heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes."

The letter names incidents that have disrupted school board meetings in California, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

https://www.gpb.org/news/back-school-live-updates/2021/09/30/school-boards-are-asking-for-federal-help-they-face