Another State Severs Ties With National School Board Association
The Texas school board joins the growing list of states pulling out of the national board association, in light of controversial findings.
Last week, news broke that the National School Board Association (NSBA) originally intended to ask the Biden Administration to use military forces against parents at school board meetings. This comes after the FBI was weaponized against concerned parents, and a national divide regarding the focus of education was widened. In light of these conflicting political measures, the Texas Association of School Boards has decided to end its affiliation with the NSBA.
Leading up to the Texas school board’s decision, last fall, the NSBA’s influence further damaged local parent/teacher relations, making it more difficult for children to go to school and learn without conflict. Many local education boards which disagreed with the move distanced themselves, and 11 states withdrew their membership, dues, and/or participation from the national organization immediately after discussing the events in October. While the Texas school board members did work to distance themselves from the NSBA, they did not fully walk away until now.
Florida was the first state to take action. The Executive Director of the Florida School Boards Association (FSBA) sent a letter to NSBA demanding answers as to why they were not consulted before the national organization’s letter to the president was sent. They clearly pointed out that much of the wording in the inciting document ran contrary to their beliefs and that they are committed to continuing to reach out to parents and community members through safe and open school board meetings. The letter concluded that they would not pay dues, and that they support the families and communities that support them. On the same day that this letter was sent, Parents Defending Education sent a letter to 47 state school board associations asking for their opinion on the situation. The Texas school board did not react as quickly as some states, but offered the NSBA the opportunity to redeem itself during the remainder of the school year.
Now that classes are ending for summer break, and further details on just how extremely the NSBA had turned against parents, Texas school boards are finished with the organization. Just as states who withdrew last fall did so on a similar timeline, other states have joined Texas in this latest departure. California, Montana, Nebraska, and South Carolina have recently announced that their state school boards will no longer be members for the 2022-2023 school year. To date, 25 states have decided to withdraw membership and/or dues. Many school boards responded that they did not agree with the NSBA or experience any violent parental incidents that would require military force or even a police presence.
A small minority of states, like Alaska, Colorado, and Nevada did not respond to Parents Defending Education. Whether or not they were offering the NSBA time to remedy the situation is unclear. Regardless, Texas is a large state with an increasing population and substantial economy. As the Texas Association of School Boards joins forces with states which have already severed ties with the national board in question, many are looking for a response from the leaders of the NSBA. So far, no official comment has been issued regarding the NSBA’s plans to address this mass exodus, but as they are facing a large loss of funding the situation is likely to be discussed.
