The National School Boards Association issued an apology to its members Friday for the Sep. 29 letter it sent to the White House asking for federal assistance to combat acts of "domestic terrorism" made by parents against school board officials.
The apology comes after at least 20 state school boards associations have distanced themselves from the NSBA following its letter to the president.
"On behalf of NSBA, we regret and apologize for the letter," the NSBA Board of Directors said in an email to its members. "To be clear, the safety of school board members, other school officials and educators, and students is our top priority, and there remains important work to be done on this issue. However, there was no justification for some of the language included in the letter. We should have had a better process in place to allow for consultation on a communication of this significance. We apologize also for the strain and stress this situation has caused you and your organizations."
"As we've reiterated since the letter was sent, we deeply value not only the work of local school boards that make important contributions within our communities, but also the voices of parents, who should and must continue to be heard when it comes to decisions about their children's education, health, and safety," the email continued.
The initial letter from NSBA to the White House asked 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" at school board meetings, where parents voiced their frustration over transgender policies, mask mandates and critical race theory.
"As these acts of malice, violence, and threats against public school officials have increased, the classification of these heinous actions could be the equivalent to a form of domestic terrorism and hate crimes," the letter read.
The Department of Justice responded to the letter by issuing a memorandum that directed the Federal Bureau of Investigations to "address threats against school administrators, board members, teachers and staff."
Friday's apology comes following a Thursday report from The Washington Free Beacon, which shows that the Biden administration was aware of the September letter from NSBA prior to it being sent to the president.
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